The law enforcement agencies denied the entry of disposable bottles of drinking water, cigarettes and match boxes carried by the stadium-goers during the final match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Qaddafi Stadium.
The spectators pointed out that availability of water was short within the stadium and there were hardly 500 paper glasses for each enclosure having a seating capacity of 5000 spectators.
"The security personnel were denying entry of everything to the stadium," said one spectator, adding that he was allowed to carry his cell phone and wallet.
He said the female spectators were advised by the security personnel to take as much water as possible before entry to the stadium but no one would be allowed to carry disposable bottles along. "There was a hype of bottles, cigarettes and match boxes along the metal detector doors," he said. As per the Standard Operating Procedure, the policemen deployed at the security gates were asking each and every person about the availability of cigarette before the start of body search. "I found on person denying of having any such thing and the policeman asked him even to put off his shoes once he found a packet of cigarette during body search," said a spectator.
He said majority of the spectators had entered the stadium by 3PM and they remained there without food until 9PM when majority of them preferred to leave for homes when first inning of the final finished.
It may be noted that the spectators had arrived the city from different parts of the country, expecting a picnic like atmosphere within the stadium. Instead, they were left unattended throughout their stay in the stadium, said another spectator.