Dhaka prepares to host cricket World Cup

DHAKA - Bangladesh Thursday gave car owners here one week to give their old vehicles a fresh coat of paint to make them shine in time for the ICC World Cup tournament.

The car owners in Chittagong port town have to get their vehicles painted by Feb 28. Otherwise, mobile courts will take action against them from March 1.

World Cup matches will be held in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka from Feb 19 to April 2.

“Fitness certificate and route permit would be cancelled of those vehicles if found plying on the city roads after the timeline,” Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain said at a meeting on ‘maintaining traffic congestion and signal during the World Cup’.

As Bangladesh prepares to play host to the World Cup, State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku urged main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to cancel the strike called for Feb 7 “considering the country’s image ahead of the World Cup”, said Star Online, website of The Daily Star.

The coveted World Cup trophy arrived here Wednesday after making a long and spectacular journey in Sri Lanka and India.

A report from Chittagong said the host team began their practice sessions under lights after receiving consent from the International Cricket Council.

Fondly called Tigers, they have started their practice sessions at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium to get acclimatised to the conditions.

The practice sessions will help the Tigers understand the behaviour of the pitch and outfield condition and the local cricket organisers will also get a chance to test the floodlights before the first practice match between Canada and Bangladesh Feb 12.

“Pitches also have been prepared at the Women’s Sporting Complex ground and MA Aziz Stadium for the teams that are participating in the World Cup for extra practice by the cricketers,” said Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director and Local Organising Committee (LOC) member secretary Dewan Shafiul Arefin Tutul.