India vs Aus 4th T20I: No electricity in Raipur stadium due to unpaid bills

The Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Nava Raipur which hosted the fourth T20 match between India and Australia on Friday evening does not have a regular electricity connection because the state government authorities have not paid the power bills for the last several years.

The pending dues have now crossed Rs 3 crore. It does not affect the matches held there, however, as the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (CSCS) obtains a temporary connection from the Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL) whenever necessary.

Power connection was provided to the stadium in 2010 on the application of the stadium construction committee. By 2018, outstanding bills had reached Rs 3.16 crore, following which the supply was disconnected, said Ashok Khandelwal, superintending engineer (Raipur circle), CSPDCL.

"Later, the stadium authority applied for a temporary connection of 200 kVA which was provided keeping in view security concerns as people visit it to watch matches," he said.

For the Friday's match too the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh obtained a temporary connection and deposited Rs 10 lakh with the company, the official added.

"We have served notices to the state Sports and Youth Welfare Department for the recovery of dues. The department had earlier cited lack of budgetary provision. Recently it has assured that all the pending bills will be paid," said Khandelwal.

The Director of the Sports and Youth Welfare Department, Shweta Sinha, did not respond to calls and messages seeking her comment. CSCS president Jubin Shah said the cricket association does not own the stadium. "It is owned by the state government and managed by the Sports and Youth Welfare Department and Public Works Department. The association does not have any outstanding electricity bills to pay for the stadium, he said. "Apart from the temporary power connection, we have our own external power sources. Earlier too matches were held there in the same way," Shah added.

Floodlights in the stadium are powered by generators because if the power supply gets disrupted, it takes half an hour to restart the lights, he said.