(From Top) Cricket lovers hit the streets and watch the final match at a giant screen in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, April 2: Cricket overshadowed everything else today with even lawmakers succumbing to its temptations.

The post-lunch session of the state Assembly was suspended with MLAs cutting across party lines demanding adjournment of the proceedings to enable them to watch the World Cup final clash between India and Sri Lanka.

The speaker adjourned the House after an official motion was moved by the government chief whip Rabi Narayan Pani in this regard with the entire House behind him. “The House is adjourned till Monday since the members want suspension of the afternoon session to enable them to watch the final match,” announced Amat.

The first to raise the issue was Nationalist Congress Party legislature party leader Amar Satpathy who wished Team India luck.

“There is excitement among the cricket fans all over the country. Even the attendance in the House is thin as the members want to watch the match,” said Satpathy urging the speaker to suspend the post-lunch session.

Satpathy was seconded by Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh, who said the entire nation was eager to watch the final match. Singh, a former sportsman, hoped Sachin Tendulkar would get his 100th international century and wished luck to Team India skipper M.S. Dhoni.

Parliamentary affairs minister Raghunath Mohanty went with the others saying that the treasury bench members were also in favour of the suspension of the post-lunch session so that they could watch the cricket match. He informed the House that chief minister Naveen Patnaik had already conveyed his best wishes to Team India. The speaker had no hesitation in adjourning the House.

If the MLAs took half a day off for the sake of the match, the state appeared to be observing an unofficial holiday. Few buses plied on the roads.

“I was supposed to make a business trip to Vishakhapatnam but I couldn’t resist the temptation of watching the big match and deferred the plan,” said Vikas, a young businessman from Malkangiri.

Offices across the state registered thin attendance and even those who did turn up for duty spent more time watching the match on the nearest television set. Sources said even fourth grade employees in the state secretariat sneaked into the empty chambers of their bosses to watch the match.

“No one was really in a mood to work. Those who turned up came only to mark their attendance,” said a senior official.

Hotels and restaurants sought to make the most of the opportunity by offering special packages to their customers who watched the match on giant screens while enjoying food and drinks. In the bigger hotels, screens were set up in the open on lawns with soft music playing in the background. “ We had clients from all age groups. Even college students came, some perhaps having skipped their classes in the afternoon,” said a restaurant-owner.