|
Patriotic
fervour peaks hours before match
Wednesday March 30, 2011 02:33:37 PM,
IANS
|
|
Mohali:
Patriotic fervour was at its peak in and around the stadium as
cricket enthusiasts marched around with the Indian standard,
painters made a fast buck by painting the national tricolour on
faces and vendors sold flags of all sizes hours before the
India-Pakistan clash.
The gates of the Punjab Cricket
Association (PCA) Stadium formally opened at 10 a.m. Wednesday and
the atmosphere seemed electric for the World Cup semifinal. The
match begins at 2.30 p.m.
Hundreds of cricket fans started pouring in and queuing up for entry
into the stadium. The place wore a festive look despite
unprecedented security turning it into a virtual fortress.
"Even though we know that these guys are over-charging for painting
the flag on our cheeks for Rs.500 per person, we don't mind it.
After all, it is for India," businessman Yoginder Bhatia told IANS
as he waited for the gates to open.
Bhatia and his friends and relatives reached the venue just before 9
a.m. - a full five and a half hours before the match starts.
Some of the diehard fans, who did not want to take any chances,
reached the stadium around 7 a.m.
"We arrived here at 7 a.m. and found some people already here. We
don't mind spending hours here as long as we get in and have a good
game," cricket enthusiast Gaurav Singh said.
While tri-colour vendors were selling them for prices ranging from
Rs.500 to Rs.2,500, depending on the size, the painters near the
stadium were charging Rs.500 to paint the tri-colour on the face.
"This is a mela (festival) kind of atmosphere. I really love it,"
university student Jasmine Walia said.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, his Pakistani counterpart
Yousuf Raza Gilani, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her son and
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, daughter Priyanka Gandhi
and son-in-law Robert Vadra will watch the match amid unprecedented
security cover.
|
|
Home |
Top of the Page |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Top
Stories |
|
Ahead of
Mohali, India and Pakistan agree to promote peace
A day before their prime ministers meet
on the margins of an explosive India-Pakistan cricket clash, South
Asia's two most bitter rivals Tuesday took small but concrete steps
»
Flashback
to 1996, and that joint India-Pakistan team
230 km
from Lahore, the nearest Pakistan can hope to play from home
|
|
|
|
Most
Read |
|
 Maharashtra minister has no time to meet Unani doctors protesting against
discrimination
Despite intense heat in Mumbai, over 500 Unani doctors from various
districts in Maharashtra sat on a day-long dharna at Azad Maidan near CST
March 29 to
» |
|
Government favours end to subsidised cooking gas to rich: Minister
The
government is seriously thinking of "ending concessional pricing" of
cooking gas to the better off to bring down the mounting bill on oil
subsidy, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas R.P.N.
Singh has said. The minister, who also oversees the corporate
affairs portfolio, said
»
|
|
|
|
News Pick |
|
 Gaddafi
demands coalition stop 'genocide' on Libya
Libyan
leader Muammar Gaddafi called on coalition representatives gathered
for a conference in London Tuesday to stop what he called the
"genocide" on Libya.
»
|
|
Woman
wins contest to attend UAE satellite launch
A woman
from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pipped 160 other residents to
win a contest held to select a visitor to the country's first
multi-purpose satellite launch.
Shamma Al Dahmani won the contest held by
»
|
|
Abbas
would give up US aid for Palestinian unity, says aide
An aide to the Palestinian president says Mahmoud Abbas is making a
heavy push for reconciliation with Hamas and is willing to give up
hundreds of millions of dollars in aid from Washington if that’s
what it takes to forge
»
|
|
Unusual
kinships: Foreign women in Gandhi's life
Mahatma
Gandhi and foreign women shared a complex relationship. His innate
sensitivity drew several women from the West to the icon of
non-violence who felt at home with them, says Melbourne-based Gandhian
scholar Thomas
»
|
|
Bhopal's
'editor' cobbler on mission to empower
Suresh Nandmehar's tiny shoe repair shop
at a footpath here is crowded every evening. As you approach it, you
can hear words like social empowerment, caste atrocities and
political opportunism. That's because Suresh is no
»
|
|
|
|
Picture of the Day |
|
 |
|
Imam-e-Haram
Dr Abdul Rahman As-Sudais laid the foundation stone of the
Auditorium-cum-cultural centre at Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadees
Complex, Okhla in Delhi on March 26, 2011. Dr As-Sudais is
currently in India on the invitation of Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind. |
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
Quick links