Home ›› 09 Feb 2023 ›› Sport
The quality of cricket in the ongoing ninth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League has often stuttered to sparkle as the concluding days of the tournament now arrive, but one thing has constantly been sparking throughout - the fireworks.
BPL has always seen fireworks, but in general during the opening ceremonies or the final.
This time around, since the opening day of the tournament, the Bangladesh Cricket Board have been lighting up fireworks three times each matchday, after every match ends and during the innings break of either game.
A BCB employee informed The Business Post that 120 fireworks are used every matchday. At the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, 60 are lit up from the roof of the Grand Stand on the Western side of the field, while the remaining are fired from the roof of the nearby Krira Palli, where several sportspersons live under the National Sports Council’s supervision.
These fireworks are sold in a set, with each set containing two fireworks. Each set costs from Tk 3,000-5,000, meaning BCB spend around Tk 1,80,000-3,00,000 on fireworks each matchday. There are a total of 24 matchdays in the BPL this time around, meaning the whole operation of spectacular noise and Lightworks is likely to cost BCB from Tk 43 lakh to Tk 72 lakhs, excluding the additional costs of carrying, transportation, and others.
While the financial aspect might not be much of an issue as BCB has often insisted that they are not acting miserly with the funds, especially in the case of bringing the Decision Review System to the tournament, the environmental impact might be.
On Tuesday, as the pointless bout between Chattogram Challengers and Dhaka Dominators dropped in favour of the former, the fireworks were shot, and a flock of birds were seen flying heedlessly as they tried to get away from the blast zone. And this is a common scene when fireworks are in use, an environmental specialist said.
“The animals in the area get afraid when there are continuous fireworks. Birds get scared. And due to that, they fall on the ground, leave the area or their eggs fall off. This is damaging biodiversity,” Professor Dr Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, Chairman of the Department of Environmental Science at Stamford University Bangladesh, told The Business Post.
However, the damage is not limited to wildlife, according to the Professor.
“The fireworks are not right. We do this to celebrate events. But this becomes damaging for others. This affects people, especially those with heart disease, as they might have a heart attack or high pressure. If pregnant women are exposed to excessive noise, it might cause damage to the child.
“People can become temporarily deaf. It may affect children mentally and physically. They can become deaf or get scared,” Kamruzzaman said.
The matter becomes even more serious considering that there are several medical centres, including the National Heart Foundation and Kidney Foundation Hospital, educational institutions, and uncountable residential buildings within a one-kilometre radius of the SBNCS (fireworks are launched from a residential building named Krira Palli).
“The fireworks are definitely an issue for every hospital. Loud noises and sound pollution are harmful to every kind of hospital. Patients with heart diseases are even more in danger in case of loud noises. I would recommend that as little the sound pollution, the better,” Dr Mohammad Badiuzzaman, a professor of Cardiology at the National Heart Foundation in Mirpur, told The Business Post.
Locals around the stadium also expressed their concerns regarding the fireworks used on every match day.
“It feels like the area is vibrating. And there is the problem of the noise too. And the debris falls in the nearby area too. It almost fell on me once,” Fazlur Rahman Tuhin, a nearby resident, said.
“The sudden noises scare us. There are patients and kids in this area, this noise affects them too,” Ajadul Islam Mohon, another resident of the area, said.
“We lose our focus during prayers. And the noises cause also a bit of a problem. We have accepted the matter. But I think it should be done once a day instead of three,” Mohammad Shahjahan, a member of the nearby Baitul Mosharof Mosque committee, said.
“It is done several times every day. I think it should be done on the opening day or the final day, not every day,” Mohammad Razibul Jabed, a shop owner near the SBNCS, opined.
BCB is organising these fireworks legally as they have taken permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“The whole city of Dhaka lights up fireworks on every occasion, we all know that. We have always used fireworks during big events, not just BPL, from selected places. And there will obviously be a noise from fireworks, we have to accept that,” BPL Governing Committee Chairman Sheikh Sohel told The Business Post.
