DDCA staff and officials at loggerheads on the eve of Delhi-MP Ranji Trophy match

A number of (105 to be exact) Delhi and District Cricket Association staffs, both contractual and non-contractual were staging a protest near the Gate No.5 of the stadium with an increase in the wager and employee welfare being their main demands

On the morning before a First-class match, Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium generally bears the look of any other official venue. Team buses struggling to turn on the narrow road adjacent to the main gate, officials coming and going, groundstaff finishing last-minute preparations, a few scattered security personnel keeping a watch on each gate, but not on Friday. 24 hours before the important Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match between Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, Kotla from outside resembled Jantar Mantar – a popular protest area in the capital. From inside though it was business as usual barring that both Delhi and MP were practicing together in the main area in the four available nets. The reasons for this lied just outside the main gate.

A number of (105 to be exact) Delhi and District Cricket Association staffs, both contractual and non-contractual were staging a protest near the Gate No.5 of the stadium with an increase in the wager and employee welfare being their main demands. The full-fledged strike, in its third day, hampered the preparations of the Ranji Trophy match to a certain extent, forcing DDCA to hire temporary groundstaff and housekeepers. The result was a work-in-progress pitch with less than 20 hours to go for the match, an unprepared secondary practice area, leaving both Delhi and MP no choice but to practice in the same nets. The visitor’s MP, were in fact, forced to practice in the Saint Stephen’s ground on Thursday due to lack of facilities in Kotla. The DDCA officials, however, denied it, terming it a routine procedure.

Going by DDCA Employee Union’s president Sunil Kumar Sharma, the protest is set to continue for an indefinite period of time if the DDCA officials do not give in to their demands.

“We are assembling here at 10 am from Wednesday. We want the DDCA president to talk to us directly. Otherwise, we have no plans to call off the strike and resume work, the strike will continue for an indefinite period of time,” Sharma said sitting under a makeshift tent decorated with the union banners and flags, just beside Gate No. 5.   

The employee union has addressed a charter of demands, a copy of which Wah Cricket has accessed, to the DDCA president Rajat Sharma. Renewal of contract, increasing basic salary of all the employees to 20% per annum, medical insurance for the staff and their family were some of the main demands put forward by the union.

The main bone of contention between the officials and staff was, however, the termination of two employees, including union president Kumar by Supreme Court appointed administrator Justice Vikramjit Sen right at the end of his tenure.

“We want DDCA to give back Sunil Kumar and Sanjeev Handa’s jobs. Their contracts were wrongfully terminated,” said a DDCA employee, who has been associated with the board for more than 20 years.

The DDCA officials, on the other hand, have dismissed the employee union’s claims.

“Their demands to reinstate terminated employees are not justified. We are a new committee so we cannot overrule the previous committee’s legal decisions. And besides, Justice Sen followed prescribed guidelines before terminating the two employees, there’s no question of bringing them back,” DDCA COO GR Saxena told Wah Cricket ABP News.

Saxena for his part promised to sit down with the employees to pay heed to their charter of demands.

“We have invited them at least four times to discuss their charter of demands on pay hike and other benefits. But their precondition is to reinstate the terminated employees, which is not possible,” Saxena added.

The Delhi-MP match might be the last Ranji Trophy game of the season at Feroz Shah Kotla but it is set to host a few U19 Cooch Behar Trophy and Col CK Nayudu Trophy matches. With all its staffs including groundsmen, housekeeping, electrical, video analysis on strike, DDCA might have a tough time providing top-notch facilities, for which it is known for, in those matches.