Groundsmen at work before the India-England One Day International match at Keenan Stadium. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, April 6: The absence of sun-shade over the galleries, organisers apprehend, might keep a large section of cricket afficianados away from watching the India-England one-day match here next week.

But invited guests at the Noaroji Pavilion and its two wings and of course the donors shall not have to bear the heat, they said.

JSCA has made elaborate arrangements for food, water, tea, coffee and soft drinks. ?Lunch packets (vegetarian and dry) would be served to the VVIPs and VIPs. Donors, who are being charged Rs 7,000 each, would also receive the same treatment,? a member of the ODI organising committee informed.

JSCA officials said the number of water taps behind the galleries have been increased. Pouches of cold water will be sold from stalls inside the stadium. Pepsi is also putting up fountains near all the seven galleries.

Spectators will be allowed to carry home-cooked food in transparent polythene bags. Fruits and water bottles will, however, not be permitted inside the stadium. The seats will be numbered and it will correspond to those printed on tickets. So the question of seats getting ?captured don?t arise?, they claimed.

But notwithstanding such reassuring noise, for a majority of the cricket lovers in the steel city, it appears to be a case of once bitten twice shy. Memory of last year?s fiasco continues to haunt them and the rising level of the mercury is daunting.

Manish Pandey, a resident of Govindpur, who has watched all the nine ODI matches played so far at the Keenan stadium, said he would skip the match this time around.

?I had a valid ticket for last year?s India-Pakistan match but was not allowed to go inside. Policemen stopped me at the Straight Mile Road itself,? he said.

Sourav Gupta also underwent a bitter experience when he had to go home mid-way into the match. ?There was no water and the heat was unbearable. News of trouble from outside continued to pour inside the stadium. Fearing chaos inside the stadium, I decided to leave for home before the lunch-break,? he added.

?The series is already decided. Then why waste time watching the match which holds no significance any longer,? said Barun Ghosh, a resident of Sakchi.

Several cricket fans also said they would skip the match due to intense heat. With temperature hovering around 40 degrees, the spectators are loathe to take any risk.

?It will be risky proposition watching the match without sun shades, even if adequate water is made available inside the stadium. But who?ll guarantee that seats vacated for quenching one?s thirst would remain ?vacant?,,? they asked.

The gates, moreover, will be opened at 5 am on the day of the match. ?This effectively means spectators shall have to stand in serpentine queues even before the break of dawn.

?It is also not guaranteed that all will be lucky to get an entry despite holding valid tickets. Last year?s chaos has left a bitter taste in my mouth,? said Mohit Jha, another victim of last year?s police lathi-charge.