Army, police break Eden parking deadlock; usual space for vehicles during match
Telegraph | 3 April 2025
The army and police have resolved their differences over parking vehicles outside Eden Gardens.
On Wednesday, a senior Kolkata Police officer said that parking of vehicles for the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday will be as it has been done over the years.
“The parking row has been resolved. We have had clear discussions with the army. The basic understanding was that there should not be any move that causes inconvenience to the public,” a senior officer at Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters, said.
Flexes and banners with parking directions around the venue were re-erected on Wednesday, and makeshift police kiosks were built ahead of Thursday’s match.
The flexes were removed on March 25, a day after a colonel sent a letter to Kolkata Police asking them to “remove all barricading from defence land within 24 hours”.
The officer-in-charge of army land flagged the Headquarters Bengal Area’s concerns about “utilisation of defence land for parking of vehicles during IPL matches” and said “that defence land in Maidan is not available for parking of vehicles for the forthcoming matches as the same is being utilised for military training”.
It said the “defence land (Bangabasi ground and the area adjacent)” was used to park vehicles during the last IPL match and that “permission to utilise defence land for parking during the said match was not obtained from the local military authority”.
On Wednesday, senior officers, overseeing traffic around Eden Gardens, said vehicle parking will be allowed on the Bangabasi ground and adjacent areas, including parts of Maidan on either side of Red Road and adjoining the Mohammedan Sporting Club’s tent.
“The police deployment and parking for Thursday have been drawn up. Senior officers have been briefed about the army’s clearance, and a traffic circulation plan has been put in place,” the officer said.
The army’s letter to Kolkata Police had come within two days of Eden Gardens hosting the star-studded inaugural match of the 18th edition of the IPL between the Knights and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on March 22.
A copy of the letter was also sent to the PWD, responsible for setting up temporary police kiosks and makeshift channels for the fans to find their way to their respective blocks.
On Wednesday, senior officials at the Eastern Command said there “should not be any problems” anymore.
“A meeting was held with all stakeholders, and there shouldn’t be any problem with anyone now,” said a senior army officer. “The army will never do anything to create a problem for the public.”
After the army’s letter to the police, senior officers said they were not responsible for the IPL parking arrangements outside Eden Gardens and that the police do not use the Bangabasi ground and its adjoining areas to park vehicles.
The police said such decisions were up to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), which hosts IPL matches at Eden.
With the impasse refusing to be resolved, army and police officers met on Saturday to discuss the parking dispute.
Sources in Kolkata Police said over the next few days, senior officers exchanged notes, and it was decided that vehicles would be allowed to park in the spaces that were earlier earmarked.