Who'll win Bombay HC match - IPL or a thirsty Maharashtra?

Will all roads in Mumbai lead to Wankhede Stadium this Saturday? Or will the multi-crore star-studded cricket show - the opening match of the 2016 season of the Indian Premier League - shift elsewhere? Will the estimated 60 lakh litres of water be used to quench parched throats and lands instead of watering lush cricket fields?

The Bombay High Court will answer these questions today as it gives its verdict in this much debated matter on whether IPL matches should be moved out of a drought-hit Maharashtra, in the interests of the people.

On April 6, the Court lashed out at the BCCI and cricket associations for holding 20 matches of the highly-watched, made-for-television IPL cricket series, in a state that is severely affected by drought. The Court, while hearing a PIL by NGO Loksatta Movement and others, came down heavily on the IPL matches calling the activity a "criminal waste" of water in a state where farmlands are parched, farmers are helpless, people are thirsty and animals are dying of the heat.

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"Are cricket matches more important than people?" was the Court's sharp reaction to the BCCI. The PIL opposes the use of water on the cricket field, estimated to add up to 60 lakh litres.

Twenty matches of the IPL are to be played in cities of Maharashtra, including Nagpur, which lies in the severely affected Vidarbha region. Just a day earlier, Congress member of Parliament and IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla had publicly stated that the IPL would not be moved out of Maharashtra. He promised help to the affected farmers "in all possible ways", ruling out that precious water was being wasted.

Experts say that the drought is the worst the state has seen in over a century. Farmlands are bone dry, water supply is only a trickle in areas of Marathwada, that too, once in four days. Latur, which lies at the epicentre of this acute water shortage, is a case in study. The 12 lakh residents of Latur taluka, one of the biggest foodgrain markets, have to queue up for hours to fill a bucket. Private water tankers and vendors are making a killing, selling ten litres of this precious liquid for Rs 150.

In areas such as Latur, there are instances of government hospitals shutting down due to non-availability of water. It's not uncommon to hear of stories of merchants picking water from the private borewells of farmers and selling them for a tidy sum. Even as the farmlands lie parched and people and animals struggle for water, fingers are being pointed at the poor administrative decisions and apathy of the local MLA, Congressman Amit Deshmukh.

In Parbhani, in an unprecedented move, prohibitory orders have been issued near spots of water supply sources to prevent violence. After all, people are fighting over the state's most scarce commodity this summer - water. In regions around Nagpur, another key venue of the IPL, 12,000 in the Vidarbha region have been declared to be drought hit.

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Of these, almost 6,000 villages are in the cotton-growing Amravati division, a region that has seen a number of farmer suicides. Closer home to the Mumbai opening match, Thane district too, is severely hit with people facing a 45 per cent water cut. The police has started frequent patrolling to avoid flare-ups and violence over water. The local police even has to be present where water is released in an area to avoid fights.

In places like Mumbra, people get water once in three days. Even as experts blame the scarcity on poor management, lack of proper water conservation, leakages and thefts, in such a scenario, is it really worth wasting water on the cricket ground?

The government policy on water usage is amply clear. Water should be given first for domestic use, followed by industrial, agricultural and environmental purposes. During the 2015 Kumbh Mela in Nashik, the Bombay HC had passed a judgment to stop water for Shahi Snan, on grounds that it infringes on Article 21 of the Constitution. This Holi, citizens' movements paid off when people avoided using water and celebrated a "dry Holi".

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The Mumbai Cricket Association's argument that they were using non-potable water didn't find favour with the Court who castigated the cricket associations and BCCI for water wastage. "How can you be so careless? Who wastes water like this?" said the Court, advising the Board to move the matches to other states. Non-potable water, incidentally, can still be used to water-parched fields across the state.

One one hand, if farmers are suffering because of water scarcity, the cricket associations are worried about last minute changes saying that tickets have already been sold. Changing venues and refunding tickets would entail huge losses and inconvenience.

But is sports entertainment more important that people and animals? Views are divided. And until the Bombay High Court, seen by helpless citizens as the custodian of their rights, issues its verdict today, both sides will wait with bated breath. Hopefully, the thirsty people of Maharashtra will win this match.

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