Paradip: Cricket is the most-watched sport in the country, but the sleepy little coastal village of Nuagada in Jagatsinghpur district wants nothing to do with it— the game is hardly watched on TV, it is seldom discussed nor is it allowed to be played by youngsters.
The reason? In 2003, a group of 13 budding young cricketers from the Utkalmani Cricket Club in the village were killed in a boat capsize while on their way to play at a fixture. The incident proved to take such a toll on the closely-knit community that the entire village then swore never to have anything to do with the sport.
“Almost 14 years have passed since that fateful day. Time has however failed to heal our wounds,” said Alok Samal, a resident of the village who had played alongside the boys back then.
Villagers have since then erected a memorial in the children’s memory, and pay tributes every year at the spot March 1. Even recounting the incident is a painful exercise for the locals. “Around 10 boys of the Utkalmani Cricket Club left that day to play a match in neighbouring Kendrapara district. They planned to go by boat across the Mahanadi. However, there was no boatman that day. The boys were young and adventurous and decided to row the boat themselves. They were halfway across when the tide rose. The boys were inexperienced and were unable to navigate the boat which soon capsized. Of the 20 boys, only seven managed to swim back to land,” said Sudhal Swain, struggling to control his emotions.
The boys who lost their lives in the accident were identified as Pradip Parida (captain), Ullash Tripathy (vice-captain), Bighnajeet Ray, Sandeep Samantray, Anjan Pradhan, Anjan Rout, Babuna Samantray, Satyananda Sahoo, Sagar Mohapatra, Akhay Nayak, Sagar Nayak, Bhagaban Das and Pradip Panda. Two of the boys were married even before attaining marriageable age, and are survived by their widows.
The incident has had a traumatising impact on the villagers and the game has since been avoided by all villagers as a mark of respect to the bereaved families, said Alok Ranjan Samal, another villager. “We never feel like watching a cricket match anymore. The slightest mention of it is enough to trigger an outpouring of emotion. The game does not interest us anymore,” said Bimal Pattnaik, a resident. PNN
