Cricket pads up against ecology on banks of Yamuna

NEW DELHI: “Howzzat” screams the wicketkeeper as the shiny ball deflects off the pads of the batsmen when he tries a flamboyant hook shot and flies straight into the cabbage patch abutting the ground. It is 11.30am on the Yamuna floodplain a short distance from Mayur Vihar I next to National Highway 24. A cricket match is in progress on a proper pitch set up at the manicured ground spread over an acre.The ground is surrounded on all sides by farmland, where unperturbed farmers can be seen tending to cabbage and spinach.
The match, rightly, should not have been played there at all. On the ecologically sensitive Yamuna floodplain, not only is any construction disallowed, but even compacting of the ground is prohibited. But the cricket ground is clearly the result of careful levelling and tamping down of the undulating expanse. A heavy roller and lawn mower can be seen on the periphery of the field.

Numerous boards along the floodplain, including at this cricket field, announce that the land belongs to Delhi Development Authority and trespassers will be prosecuted. The players couldn’t care less though. And when contacted by TOI about the legality of this cricket pitch, DDA said that it would reserve its comments for later.
In the congested capital, open spaces are scarce and shrinking, and Delhiites have turned their gaze towards the river banks. The area just across from Mayur Vihar I, in particular, is becoming a popular meeting ground for neighbourhood cricketers and footballers.
Avinash Teotia, who plays cricket there with his friends, explained why it was necessary for them to have made their ground on the floodplain. “We all share an interest in cricket, but never found a place that was affordable to host regular matches. Hiring a ground for a single match cost us up to Rs 5,000,” Teotia said. “It is then that we decided to create a ground of our own and pooled money for the project. My friend Jitender (Gupta) had some land on the river plain and we developed it. We maintain the ground at our expense and also permit others to use the ground for free.”
Teotia claimed he was not aware about restrictions placed on activities on the ecologically sensitive area. “If the authorities ask us to stop playing, we will have to vacate the grounds, I suppose” he shrugged. Despite repeated attempts, Jitender Gupta couldn’t be contacted for his views.
Last year, a cricket coaching academy — Skillz Cricket Academy — set up pitches and nets for trainees in the vicinity. The academy has since closed down. “I ran the academy for around two months, but after I was told about the guidelines of the National Green Tribunal on such activities on the floodplain, I had to down shutters,” said Harsh Gautam, the academy owner, who also claimed, “I didn’t own the land, I was only the coach.”
Unlike Gautam, others frequent the area for matches. “The government should make sporting facilities affordable so we need not play in sensitive eco-zones,” said Gautam.