Mumbai Police will provide green corridors for the movement of buses carrying players and staff for the IPL 2022 season to ensure that they reach the venues for playing and practice in time and do not get stuck in traffic. Over 1,100 police personnel including traffic police will be deployed for the matches in Mumbai, a senior officer said on Saturday. This year all IPL league matches are being held in two cities –- Mumbai and Pune, and the 10 participating teams are staying in hotels in different parts of the megapolis.
The league matches starting this evening will be played at the Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne stadium -- both in south Mumbai, DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai and MCA Stadium in Pune.
A police officer said that as the distance between the hotels where the players and staff of teams are staying and the stadiums are far, Mumbai Police are taking additional precautions about players' safety and timings of matches.
"Regarding green corridors, each team will be provided (police) escort and security as some of the matches are (scheduled) during peak hours. Infrastructure-related work is also going on at some places in Mumbai," the officer added.
The distance between south Mumbai and D Y Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai is around 35 kilometres and considering traffic-related issues, Mumbai Police will coordinate with their counterparts in Navi Mumbai for smooth traffic movement, he said, adding that Thane and Pune Police too will be put in the loop.
For matches to be played at Wankhede and Brabourne stadiums, police will take precautionary measures to avoid traffic jams considering that Marine Drive and Churchgate stations are located nearby, he said.
Chennai Super Kings team is stationed at hotel Trident and Delhi Capitals at Taj Palace, both in south Mumbai.
Gujarat Titans are residing at JW Marriott, Sahar, and KKR at ITC Grand Central, in Parel in Mumbai.
Lucknow Super Giants are staying at Taj Vivanta in Navi Mumbai and Mumbai Indians at hotel Trident in the Bandra Kurla Complex.
Punjab Kings are staying at hotel Renaissance in Powai, Rajasthan Royals at Grand Hyatt in Santacruz, Royal Challengers Bangalore at Taj Lands End in Bandra, SunRisers Hyderabad at ITC Maratha, Sahar.
The teams will travel to Navi Mumbai and Pune for the matches.
"Considering the travel time to reach to those stadiums from hotels of the players, police have prepared specific time-bound security plans. Necessary logistical support is also being provided," the officer said.
Mumbai Traffic Police's joint commissioner Rajvardhan Sinha said police personnel are ready with plans for transporting players and regulating traffic during the IPL matches.
Police will monitor the signal system on the route of teams and will ensure a smooth flow of traffic, he said.
"We are ensuring that IPL teams reach the stadiums from their hotels for games as well as for practice in time, and at the same time, common people should not suffer," he said, adding that no route will be blocked for the movement of teams.
Each team will be escorted by a team comprising personnel of traffic police and Mumbai police whenever they travel for IPL games or practice sessions, he said.
Police are in touch with nodal officers for each team who have shared their practice and match schedule 15 days in advance, Sinha added.