It is a shame. Let us face it and accept it. The city has been shamed, and India, a nation aspiring to bid for the 2036 Olympics, has been left a laughing stock before the world.
I watched the visuals in utter shock. Somehow, it always ends up being about the fans. And yet, from top to bottom, it was not. People had travelled from far and wide to be part of a spectacle. What they witnessed instead was a disaster of humongous proportions.
At an event of this scale, there has to be protocol. There wasn’t. Only a handful of people needed to enter the ground, no more than ten. That alone would have allowed fans to witness and enjoy Messi from a distance, safely and meaningfully. Instead, hundreds were seen surrounding the hero, and not a word was said. Not once was there a visible attempt to clear the ground and allow the event itself to take centre stage. And that is the saddest part.
In the build-up, I had done three interviews with Satadru Datta. Each time, I asked the same questions: what about the fans, and what about security? Even today, I wrote that we did not want another Chinnaswamy. The fear was always there, and that is where the focus should have been.
Sadly, we do not learn. We saw what happened at Chinnaswamy, and yet this still unfolded. No corrective measures were put in place. No concrete steps were taken. Nothing was done to protect the interests of the fan. And now, we are left shocked and angry.
This is not merely a Bengal issue. It was a global event, and the eyes of the world were on India. It was Messi, after all. And today, India stands shamed, with many asking a deeply uncomfortable question: are we truly ready to bid for the Olympics?
Was there a proper recce? Was there a clearly defined show flow? Were promoters informed, and did they inform others, about who could enter the pitch and who could not? Was there a standard operating procedure at all?
These questions will be asked. And the truth is, what we are left with is shame and pain. The tour is scheduled to move on to Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi. Will it go on as planned? The jury, for now, is still out.
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