No time for fans? Dalmiya being congratulated by state officials after BCCI elections on Monday
© PTI
Hours after Bengal cricket strongman Jagmohan Dalmiya was officially named president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), his hometown of Kolkata was ready to give the veteran administrator a resounding welcome. At least 50 school girls - many in uniform - waited to receive Dalmiya, with 'thalis' of flower petals in their hands at Kolkata's Netaji Shubhash Chandra International Bose Airport.
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The girls, some of them as young as eight years, were residents of an orphanage called the Refuge. The Cricket Association of Bengal president Biswarup Dey is a joint-secretary of the Refugee. The name of another cricket administrator is listed as the president of the orphanage. The reception, organised by the CAB, was not well received by the general public at the airport, who were hugely inconvenienced by the 'tamasha'. (Dalmiya Scripts Stunning Turnaround of Fortunes )
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"The young kids did not have a clue as to who Dalmiya was, or what the BCCI or CAB is. After an hour-long wait, the 'VIP' arrived and he was mobbed to the extent that he had to go back inside the airport. It was almost a stampede. These young girls could have hurt themselves," said Shashant Daswani, who happened to be at the Kolkata airport. He revealed that the girls did not even get a glimpse of Dalmiya after waiting for him way past their bedtime. (Dalmiya's Return Will Keep Srinivasan Camp Afloat in Indian Cricket Politics )
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Daswani revealed people had to wait for close to an hour at gate 1B at the arrival section of the airport.
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An emotional Dalmiya, who was returned from Chennai after the much-hyped BCCI elections, addressed the media upon his arrival in Kolkata and thanked people for showing such affection. The 74-year-old returned as boss of the Indian cricket board after a decade, as a consensus candidate between several power factions in the BCCI. He is expected to lead with an iron fist and steer Indian cricket administration of the recent turmoil, but the ungainly scenes at the airport would have let a bad taste in the mouth.
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The whole reception was hijacked by CAB officials, who mobbed Dalmiya with garlands. Only a handful of the older school girls could shower petals on Indian cricket's top honcho.
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(With inputs from Monideepa Banerjee)
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