PESHAWAR: As millions of viewers in Peshawar and other parts of the country are eagerly waiting for Pak-India contest at the ICC T20 World Cup today (Saturday), cinema houses and food outlets in the provincial capital have also arranged live telecast of the match on big screens.

The keen interest of people can be gauged from the fact that they are buying tickets for Rs100 for watching the cricket match in cinema houses. Big size posters and banners can be seen outside cinema houses attracting people, especially the youngsters.

Hoteliers, restaurants and some non-government organisations have also made arrangements for big television screens to facilitate people to watch the match.

A cricket lover said that such arrangements had also been made by business community for a Pak vs Bangladesh match during the Asia Cup.

However, people of different localities said that they won’t be unable to enjoy the match due to prolonged power outages. “The Pesco should avoid power suspensions during the time the match would be played so we can watch the match without any disruption,” Qazi Innamullah, a government employee, told Dawn.

Another cricket lover, Mohammad Izhar, who is a college student, said most youngsters were busy in preparing for examinations and they would be unable to spare time for watching the match. “Our parents are not allowing us to watch the match as they consider it wastage of time,” he said.

Some other students, Waseem, Izaz and Asif, said they were eagerly waiting to watch the match. “It is a pleasant opportunity to enjoy the match in a situation when the nation is afflicted with menace of terrorism,” they observed.

They suggested that the government should ensure smooth power supply to consumers, especially on such occasions so that violence-stricken people could enjoy the movements.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2016