Odisha Govt Show Causes OCA Secy On Floodlight Malfunction During Cuttack ODI

Bhubaneswar/Cuttack: The Mohan Majhi government on Monday sought an explanation from secretary of Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) Sanjay Behera for the floodlight malfunction, which led to the suspension of the India-England ODI at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium for nearly 30 minutes the previous day.

“During the 2nd One Day International (ODI) cricket match between India and England on February 9, 2025, at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, one flood light was off, and the match was disrupted. This incident led to about 30 minutes suspension of the match, causing inconvenience to players and spectators,” the Sport & Youth Services Department said.

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The OCA has been directed to submit a detailed explanation for the cause of the disruption and identify the persons/ agencies, who were responsible for such lapses. It has also been asked to outline the measures taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. “The findings must be submitted within 10 days upon receipt of this letter,” it added.

Amid all the excitement of hosting an ODI after 6 years, the usually lengthy pause due to floodlight failure in the second innings of the game after India went off to a fiery start came as an embarrassment for the government in Odisha. Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, who along with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and other senior ministers was present at the stadium, had earlier said that an explanation will be sought from the OCA over the floodlight glitch. “It happened despite taking all precautions and making elaborate prior arrangements by the OCA,” he added.

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Explaining the cause of the fiasco, the OCA secretary earlier told the media that each floodlight tower had two generators attached. “During the match, one of the generators for the affected floodlight tower malfunctioned. When we attempted to switch to the second generator, we found that a vehicle used for transporting players was parked between the tower and the generator. We had to contact the driver and ask him to move the vehicle before the power supply could be restored,” he added.