Capital’s bigwigs chose to be couch potatoes

As seats at the Mohali stadium were at a premium, lakhs of Delhiites' decided to occupy the ones in their drawing rooms on Wednesday. And it wasn't just the aam Dilliwalla

Capital's bigwigs chose to be couch potatoes

As seats at the Mohali stadium were at a premium, lakhs of Delhiites' decided to occupy the ones in their drawing rooms on Wednesday. And it wasn't just the aam Dilliwalla; while a number of senior Congress leaders and BJP leaders had gone to Mohali, LK Advani, Sheila Dikshit and several others were among those who watched the match at their homes. Advani had installed a big screen at his home and was joined by various BJP leaders.

Cricket fans at Nai Sarak in old Delhi

Though Sheila Dikshit attended a public function of Delhi Fire Services in the morning, she watched the match at home with her family. Later she was also joined by city MLAs including Mateen Ahmed and Anil Chaudhary. Ahmed presented her with a floral World Cup.u00a0 City MLAs and councillors too had installed big screens in their respective areas for their supporters.

Also Press Club of India, Constitutional Club, Chelmsford Club, city pubs and bars had installed either big screens or projectors in their premises. City bars and restaurants had come up with attractive offers to woo visitors.

BJP leaders Vijay Jolly and Arti Mehra watching the game on big screen

Local leaders did not remain behind in celebrating the match. Former Chief Minister, Sahib Singh Verma's son, Pravesh Singh had organised a get-together at his home, where he was joined by various local leaders including former mayor Aarti Mehra, BJP leader Vijay Jolly and several other politicians.

In the evening peak hours when bumper to bumper traffic is witnessed, the roads wore a deserted look. Rather Wednesday's peak hours were in the afternoon when generally, traffic volume is low. "Everybody is heading back towards home at noon only. It is an unusual day," commented a Noida traffic official.

No drivers!

Delhi Transport Corporation could take out only 3900 buses in the evening schedule as the drivers and conductors took mass leave for the match. "We had scheduled 5300 buses in the evening. But as there was shortage of drivers and conductors, we could come out only with 3900 buses," added an official.u00a0