At least four persons of Rashtriya Dalit Mahasangh on Friday unsuccessfully tried to damage the pitch of Khanderi Cricket stadium in Rajkot in protest against holding of IPl matches in wake of water scarcity in the region.
Four members of Rashtriya Dalit Mahasangh entered the cricket stadium owned by Saurashtra Cricket Association on Friday with an intent to damage the pitch. They were however spotted by the officials and removed from the stadium.
The officials later called in the local police, which deployed a team of State Reserve Police to man the pitch. The security of the stadium too has been tightened after the incident, though no arrests or detentions have been made so far.
Former Bharatiya Janata Party legislator and president of Mahasangh, Siddharth Parmar, sphearheaded a dharna and 48-hour fast outside the SCA stadium to protest against the tournament being held in Rajkot, given the drought-like situation prevailing in the region.
The Mahasangh wants the matches shifted to venue outside Gujarat and SCA to adopt villages affected by water scarcity or supply water to these villages using SCA pump.
The SCA on its part claims that they are not supplied water from the local civic authorities but have made water arrangements on their own.