Road Safety World Series: No entry for spectators without masks at Raipur stadium

Raipur: The local administration in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur district on Tuesday announced that spectators who don’t wear masks will not be allowed to enter Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium during the Road Safety World Series (RSWS) cricket tournament. The RSWS T20 tournament is being played between legend teams of six nations, including India, at the stadium in Nava Raipur from 5 March, to create awareness towards road safety. A large crowd of viewers was seen enjoying the last few matches in the stadium without wearing masks. “In view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases, it has been decided that the entry will be prohibited to spectators who don’t wear masks,” an official from the public relations department said. Necessary action will be taken against people who are found without masks, he said. According to the tournament schedule, only four matches are left to be played, including the final game scheduled on 21 March and semi-finals on 17 and 19 March. The opposition BJP on Monday had slammed the Congress government in the state for allegedly failing to ensure strict compliance with safety protocols during the RSWS cricket matches. “Why has the state government remained silent about violations of coronavirus preventive guidelines in the stadium? Thousands of people in the excitement of watching matches were neither concerned about social distancing nor wearing masks,” state BJP spokesperson Anurag Singhdeo had said. Chhattisgarh has been witnessing a rise in COVID-19 cases since the last week, with Raipur accounting for most infections.