Ghulam Ali’s Concert At Eden Gardens Invites Stiff Opposition

Ghulam-Ali---Eden-collage
Eden Gardens was chosen as the venue for Ghulam Ali’s concert .

Kolkata : Ghulam Ali’s proposed concert  at the iconic Eden Gardens hit a roadblock after a strong reaction from amongst  the members of  the association . The iconic venue which was chosen as the venue for Ustad Ghulam Ali’s concert on January 12  was changed after a day long speculation .Later in the evening Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly clarified “ Keeping in mind the ICC World Twenty 20 which is just two months away , we have decided not to host such an event . Priority for the association will be host the World T20 matches smoothly . I have informed Sultan Ahmed about our decision . I will inform the chief minister as well about our inability to host such an event .”

The event which will be organised by the West Bengal government was scheduled to be held at Park Circus Maidan in Kolkata but at the last moment there was change in plans. Ali is supposed to perform along with his son. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee wanted the event to be held at Eden Gardens , anticipating law and order problem at the Park Circus Ground .

Mamata Banerjee invited Ghulam Ali to perform in Kolkata after the legendary singer’s concert was called off in Mumbai last year after threats from Shiv Sena, following which .

While Ghulam Ali coming to Kolkata is a welcome development, the choice of venue has evoked lot of questions especially due to Eden’s chequered history. Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) had come under severe criticism after the third T20 match between India and South Africa got washed out due to slightest of rains. Since then the historic cricket ground, which will host the final of the T20 World Cup, has been thoroughly rehauled with processes such as coring. A concert of this magnitude is bound to affect the outfield. It is to be seen what negative impression this may have on ICC officials who had earlier sent an inspection team to get an update on the venue.

A CAB official said to our sources, “Just few days ago coring was done on the outfield. This issue was not even discussed in the working committee meeting. How can such a decision be taken overnight?”

Incidentally, Eden Gardens had even lost hosting rights for the India versus England game in ICC 2011 World Cup as CAB failed to meet the deadline for renovation of the stadium. The match was shifted to M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. After the washout of the T20 game, there were suggestions to move the final out of Kolkata, but it didn’t materialise.