No Metro block till March 30

No Metro block till March 30
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Those wanting to watch IPL matches can heave a sigh of relief. The high court on Thursday adjourned hearing of an interlocutary application filed by the BMRC seeking for vacating the stay order in respect of Namma Metro work near Chinnaswamy stadium.
Justice S Abdul Nazeer adjourned to March 30 the hearing of the petition filed by KSCA challenging the land acquisition by KIADB.
The judge told both the counsel to settle the matter relating to removal of JCBs in front of the gates and also for allowing that space to be utilized for hospitality purposes during the nine IPL matches that will be held at the stadium.
Former advocate general R N Narasimha Murthy who appeared on behalf of BMRC contended that the stay order granted in February first week was hampering the progress of the mega project.
CROSS-EXAMINING SOBERS!
The hearing on Metro work had some lively cricket-related arguments in the courtroom. “There was no Tendulkar at that time and I may need to cross-examine Gary Sobers,’’ observed Justice Abdul Nazeer.
Counsel for BMRC R N Narasimha Murthy in his submissions said: “They have put forward IPL as the reason. In fact, it is not cricket at all. Even the ODIs are not cricket. It is purely a private commercial activity. The real cricket is Test cricket. Gone are the days of Vijay Merchant, Dattu Phadkar and Hemu Adhikari who played the game with spirit. It was purely a Gentleman’s game then. Now, even to take a catch, they do so many antics,’’ he told the court.
The judge observed there was no Tendulkar those days. To this, one of the advocates referred to the statement made by Gary Sobers that Gavasker was the best batsman. “Then I have to cross-examine Gary Sobers,’’ Justice Nazeer remarked in a lighter vein.