Mamata Banerjee orders probe into Salt Lake debacle

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday ordered a probe into the power-cut incident in the Yuba Bharati Krirangan which affected an ongoing I-League derby match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal attended by nearly a lakh spectators.

"I have discussed the matter with Power Minister Manish Gupta and Sports Minister Madan Mitra and ordered a probe into it," Banerjee told reporters here.

The 1,20,000-capacity stadium went into darkness at the 85th minute when Mohun Bagan were leading 1-0 on Sunday.

It was an embarrassment for the local organisers as the match was watched by many including son of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, Siddhartha, who, impressed with the electrifying atmosphere, was tweeting about the match.

But Junior Mallya, whose UB group is the sponsors of both the teams, said, "It was disappointing to see such an electrifying atmosphere hampered by a power-cut. Something needs to be done about it. We are really concerned."

Power was restored within a minute but it took 18 minutes for the play to resume.

Crying foul, Mohun Bagan managing director Ajan Mitra alleged, "It was a case of sabotage".

Sports Minister Madan Mitra, who was the chief guest, however, ruled out any sabotage, saying, "That was just an accident. We will inquire into this."

In the recent past, the state government-owned stadium had plunged into darkness after the Argentina v/s Venezuela FIFA international friendly when the latter's coach Cesar Farias was addressing the media on September 2. The Salt Lake stadium is notorious for its power cut in the past as India's World Cup football qualifier against Japan in 2004 was hit badly by a load shedding.