Fans in Pune brave intense heat without water, roof

Not long after it came to be known that Pune would host the second Test between India and New Zealand Bhavesh Patil hatched a plan to attendldquoWatching my lifersquos first Test match todayrdquo his voice rang out like a clarion call as if swelled with pride while brother Sachin kept busy raising the tricolour flag high each time Indias Washington Sundar brought an end to Kiwisrsquo stay at the creaseldquoBut not the kind of first experience I wantedrdquo Bhavesh quickly added endlessly flapping his hands near his face to beat the sweltering October heat ldquoA middleaged man probably in his 40s nearly collapsed due to the heat The least the stadium men officials could do in this heat was to give us access to free water Anybody would fall ill we are humans not machinesrdquoldquoWe bought four bottles at 150 Rs each They vendors knew people will buy those in bulk hence they were overpriced What could we have done we were helpless Complete mismanagement by the MCA stadium officials As fans we will now think twice before coming hererdquo a visibly irate Sachin remarkedUnlike the Patil brothers the Mehrotras turned their back on the promise of access to free water and left for home shortly during the lunch breakldquoI could not stand the heat on top of that they did not give us access to free water as they promised earlier My brother is 60 plus and the situation worried me I wanted to leave earlier but he brother insisted that we stay till the lunch session and so we didrdquo said Swapnil ldquoWe heard Mr Pisal Kamlesh Pisal MCA Secretary apologised later and assured everyone that this would not happen againrdquoAlso ReadPretty Sundar showAsked whether he would be back on Friday for the second day of the Test match Swapnil shot back a swift no without hesitationOur sincere apologies to all the fans for the inconvenience caused We will ensure things will be alright going forward We have already addressed the water issue Pisal later told the media as quoted by PTI This time we have decided to provide the spectators with chilled drinking water and there were some sort of logistical issues as some of the stalls ran out of water during the lunch break owing to heavy rush It took us 15 to 20 minutes to refill the water containers and since it was delayed we decided to offer them free bottled waterrdquoPerched on the outskirts of the city the MCA stadium that boasts a grand capacity of nearly 43000 seats felt underwhelming with less than 20000 in attendance With over half the crowd braving the sweltering sun and oppressive humidity since the toss the lack of a roof became a test of who could survive the longest With only six stands being equipped with roofs the majority of attendees on Thursday were left at the mercy of the blazing sunHundreds of parched fans flocked to the North Stand in search of water but in vain As the crowd began getting increasingly restless police intervention was summoned to manage the burgeoning throngAlso ReadShreyas granted leaveWhile many reported symptoms of dehydration and dizziness a few others even required attention at the firstaid kioskWith temperatures soaring above 30 degrees Celsius one would expect better planning for such an event especially in a city known for its summer heat Instead it felt like spectators were part of some twisted endurance test where the prize was merely the chance to watch cricket while risking heatstrokeldquoIf fans cannot avail a basic necessity like water then why shoulder the burden of hosting an important match like this The BCCI should get involved We deserve better No amount of apologies can undo the challenges we faced as fans today Why should I go anymore Is it my fault No itrsquos theirs We paid for our tickets and they are robbing us of the right to enjoy the game peacefully This should not go unnoticedrdquo Sachin addedYet amid the discomfort the spirit of the game persisted Despite their trials they remained hopeful cheering for India with a fervour that could even rival the sunrsquos intensity