Cuttack: The Commissionerate Police conducted a detailed briefing on Thursday to finalise security and crowd-management strategies for offline sale of tickets, which will begin at 9 am on Friday, for the upcoming India vs South Africa T20 match at Barabati Stadium in Odisha’s Cuttack city.
A fresh crowd-management layout has been introduced for smooth and hassle-free ticket purchasing experience against the backdrop of the stampede-like situation earlier this February when thousands of fans jostled for offline tickets of India vs England’s second ODI.
According to sources, steel barricades have been placed in a serpentine pattern around the ticket counters at Barabati S
tadium to manage long queues, along with new operational guidelines to prevent overnight queues, stop black-market activities, and maintain orderly distribution.
A total of 10,000 will be sold at five designated ticket counters from 9 am to 6 pm.
Although spectators will be allowed to queue up as early as 6 am, authorities have strictly forbidden overnight camping or attempts to form lines before dawn. The fans will enter from the OCA Cricket Academy side and proceed through two parallel 2-foot barricades, followed by a 3-foot barricade manned by police personnel. Approximately 800 metres of steel barricading has been installed from the counters onward to manage crowd movement. Arrangements have also been made for a separate exit route to maintain unidirectional flow and avoid bottlenecks.
Similarly, police in plain-clothes will be deployed around ticket counters and major access roads to prevent scalping and illegal ticket resale. The whole ticketing zone will be under CCTV surveillance for transparency, quick response, and evidence collection in case of violations.
According to the Commissionerate Police, enforcement teams will immediately respond to any reports of black-marketing or forced crowding.
Meanwhile, ticket sale for affiliated units of the Odisha Cricket Association continued till 6 pm on Thursday at the OCA Conference Hall. The SBI, in partnership with other officials, oversaw and validated the ticketing process.
The Barabati Stadium will host the India vs South Africa T20 cricket match on December 9.