Kanpur: For years, the UPCA has procured black soil from Unnao to prepare pitches at the Green Park Stadium but the natural resource is vanishing fast in that city, leaving the state cricket association worried.
Not only the high-quality resource is dwindling in Unnao — about 25km from Kanpur – the quality of the available soil has also suffered considerable degradation.
The soil with more than 50 percent of clay particles is suitable for preparing a cricket pitch. The Green Park stadium hosts about 150 matches on nine pitches in a season and that requires renovation in the off-season.
According to UPCA pitch curator Shiv Kumar, the soil requirement in each season is 1200 cubic feet.
Related Articles
Top 20 News
NIA joins Bhiwani-Prayagraj Express derailment attempt probe, surveys site in Kanpur An NIA team has joined the ongoing probe in Kanpur where a major train accident was averted by a loco pilot who brought the Bhiwani-Prayagraj Express to a screeching halt after it hit an LPG cylinder on the tracks on Sunday night, police said. According to the police, bottles of petrol and matchboxes were also found at the site hinting at a sabotage bid, the reason why a high-level team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been rushed in to join the investigations. "A team from the NIA, led by a woman IPS officer of the 2012 batch has started investigating the site where the LPG cylinder was found placed on the railway tracks," a senior police officer told PTI from Kanpur. "The NIA officials have started gathering details about the incident. They are also undertaking a survey of the entire area around the railway tracks (where the LPG cylinder was found)," Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Rajesh Kumar Singh said. ADG Railways has also arrived, a police official confirmed. "The NIA officials... asked the police to make a survey of railway tracks in the large areas believing it might be helpful in getting breakthrough into the case," he added. "A detailed press note will be issued from Delhi," an officer at the NIA control room said, when he was approached to share details of the ongoing investigations into the incident that occurred around 8.20 pm on Sunday. An FIR has been registered and teams have been formed by multiple agencies including Uttar Pradesh's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the NIA to probe the matter, officials said. The Kanpur Police has detained six people, including two local history-sheeters, in connection with the case and decided to form a Special Investigation Team, they said, adding it will also study if there are any similarities with the recent Sabarmati Express derailment in Kanpur. "An attempt was made to derail the Kalindi Express by placing the LPG cylinder on the tracks," the police said. Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Harish Chander said 4-5 grams of explosive powder apart from a bottle filled with petrol and a wick, matchboxes and an LPG cylinder which was placed on the tracks to derail the train have been recovered. He said the loco pilot saw that the LPG cylinder was placed on the tracks and applied emergency brakes. However, before it came to a halt, the train hit the cylinder, knocking it off the tracks, Chander said, adding the loco pilot informed the guard and the gateman about it. The train remained at the incident site for about 20 minutes and was again stopped at the Bilhaur station for a check, the Additional CP said. Efforts were being made to identify the culprits and they will be dealt with sternly, he said. The Railways lodged an FIR at Shivrajpur against unidentified persons, saying placing of an LPG cylinder on the tracks along with a bottle filled with petrol and a wick suggests a possible sabotage bid. A senior officer said the FIR has been lodged against "unidentified" accused under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 287 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and under provisions of the Explosives Act, 1884 and Railways Act. Top officials have formed five teams to investigate the matter. "As many as six persons, including two local history-sheeters, were detained on Monday for questioning in connection with the incident," DCP Singh said. The Kanpur Police has also decided to form an SIT, to be headed by a senior rank official, to investigate the matter. The police will study if there are any similarities in pattern and modus operandi of the recent Sabarmati Express derailment that took place about 20 days ago in the Panki area here, an officer said. Twenty coaches of the Ahmedabad-bound Sabarmati Express passenger train had derailed near Govindpuri station in Kanpur after the engine hit an object placed on the track. Officials had said agencies were investigating the possible involvement of anti-social elements in the incident. UP Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said, "All our senior officers have visited the spot and we are looking into things seriously. Whatever facts come to light, we will inform the media about them." On a question about the ATS also reaching the spot in Kanpur, the DGP said, "We will look into all the aspects and it is not possible to say anything on this without a full investigation." It has also been decided to look for "Jamatis (members of Islamic groups) in the vicinity and question them," an official source said. ATS' Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nilabja Chowdhry said the investigators will "look into every aspect" of the incident under their probe. ACP Chander said forensic experts examined the explosive powder and will suggest as to which central laboratory should be roped in for the forensic examinations. "It is too early to reach conclusions whether or not the terror groups are behind the conspiracy as police couldn't rule out any possibility," he said. The modus operandi behind an abortive attempt to derail the train showed it was an act of an "unskilled" person and it could be an insider's job too, said an official, requesting anonymity. "We also sought mobile towers' data (call detailed records containing subscribers' information) for the last six days, believing it will help police in cracking the case but several mobile service providers failed to provide it," the official added.
“In my entire career, we have used soil only from Unnao. What worries me now is that Unnao is not left with much of that natural resource. We can manage two more years with the available stock and before it finishes, we need to identify a new area,” Shiv Kumar told PTI.
Advertisement
“The soil has almost finished in that area and the quality we are getting now is not up to the mark.” UPCA procures black soil from a pond in Unnao and a village called ‘Kali Mitti’. The agricultural fields in that area are the biggest source of soil but the years of digging means the resource is emptying. Explaining the phenomenon, the UPCA curator said that the main content of soil is clay.
“The main particle in the soil is clay. It’s such a small particle, about 0.002 microns. It takes about 30-40 years for the soil to convert into clay in a pond. Then there is sand, gravel, and other things. Soil with 50-60 per cent clay presence is considered good.” Shiv Kumar said earlier the good-quality soil was available just one feet below the top of the field but it’s not the case anymore due to the consistent digging over the years.
“The curators have started to understand the soil with which they work. So, the selection of soils has also changed, not in our place but everywhere with BCCI’s education programme.
“Earlier we just used whatever was available and just watered and rolled the pitch. No one knew about the roots of the grass. No one knew about the compaction potential of the roller.
“Now we are checking the moisture, temperature, how much water is to be kept and how much compaction should be given. We can see good cricket only if the pitch is made using a scientific method,” he said.
UPCA is now looking at places like Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to get soil.
“They have high-clay fields. There is good clay in MP also. We will see something from there. It can be an issue when we have to make new pitches, if we do not find a place nearby.” UPCA hosts about 150 matches, including age group, Ranji, first class, local league, and trials, in a single season.
It takes about 45 days to prepare a pitch from start to finish. A few pitches require renovation/top-up, after being used three times.
“Like in January, we will have to do some repair work because a few pitches would have hosted matches. But for that, we will need soil from the same family, which means soil from the exact place from which the pitch was prepared in the beginning.
“We can’t use soil from a different family because the content would be different,” added Shiv, who is a science graduate.