CAUVERY ISSUE: TAMIL OUTFIT WARNS OF PROTESTS AGAINST IPL MATCHES
CHENNAI: Opposition to IPL matches to be held here intensified today with a pro-tamil outfit agitating over Cauvery issue threatened to hold protests outside the game venue on Tuesday.
A host of cinema personalities also wanted the matches to be postponed but an official of IPL franchisee Chennai Super Kings (CSK) said the matches will go on as per schedule.
Tamil Nadu has been witnessing protests for the past one week urging the Centre to constitute the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) in compliance with the February 16 order of the Supreme Court on the water sharing dispute with Karnataka.
Political parties and outfits have demanded that Indian Premier League (IPL) matches not be held at a time when the state was witnessing widespread agitations on the vexed issue.
Pro-tamil outfit Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) on Monday warned of picketing the MA Chidambaram stadium here on Tuesday if the IPL stuck to its Chennai calendar, with the city all set to witness its first contest on Tuesday.
MS Dhoni-led CSK and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), captained by Dinesh Karthik, will lock horns in the first game here on Tuesday at 8 pm.
"If the match is held despite our plea, we will coordinate all democratic forces to stop it by organising a massive picketing protest. Many leaders, organisations will participate," TVK chief T Velmurugan told reporters here.
"Cricketers knowing Tamil, please understand our sentiments," he said.
Later, Velmurugan said that his party or outfits that have joined hands with it were not against the players.
A 'massive' protest has been planned outside the Neyveli Lignite Coproration (NLC) in Cuddalore district on Tuesday against the Centre on the issue, he added. HYDERABAD: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the regional hub complex of the elite anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG) at Ibrahimpatnam near here on Tuesday. The construction of the stateof-the-art regional hub complex by the Central Public Works Department commenced in 2013 and the total project cost was Rs 157.84 crore.
The 200-acre complex will have residential and office accommodation and modern training facilities such as Baffle firing range, indoor shooting range, 26 obstacles, swimming pool, sports complex, and artificial rock craft wall, a senior NSG official said.
It will house about 600 trained commandos.
"Our endeavour has been to develop this complex as a green campus," he added. The 28 Special Composite Group (SCG) Complex of NSG is among the four regional hubs in the country and it has been set up to reduce the response time.