Government of Karnataka Shifting Stadium

The Karnataka government is considering shifting the M Chinnaswamy stadium from Bengaluru to another city. This comes in the aftermath of the stampede that broke out outside the stadium following RCB’s maiden IPL title win. 11 people lost their lives and several were injured on June 4 when the victorious RCB team returned to Bengaluru to take part in victory celebrations.

No more stadium in Bengaluru for RCB?

As per news agency ANI, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said that the government was considering shifting the stadium out of Bengaluru to another city. He claimed that such an incident should not occur under any government, adding that the incident had caused him deep hurt.

“The government will look into shifting the cricket stadium to another location,” the Karnataka CM has said.

It is pertinent to point out that the M Chinnaswamy stadium is the only venue in Karnataka that can host international games. It serves as RCB’s home ground.

Last week, five police officials were suspended following the tragedy that unfolded in the heart of Bengaluru. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) treasurer and secretary had also tendered their resignations on moral grounds.

Meanwhile, a senior police official claimed that he had issued a written warning to the government about the risks posed by the event due to inadequate security and crowd control.

Bengaluru stampede

Chaos broke out outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium after a deleted RCB social media post invited fans to gather for a victory parade. The felicitation event at Vidhan Soudha went smoothly, but the unregulated crowd outside the stadium led to a stampede.

The Karnataka High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and halted coercive action against KSCA officials until June 16. An FIR has been lodged against KSCA, RCB, and DNA, and four arrests have been made, including RCB’s head of marketing.