If the news of 405 tickets of 2011 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium being unsold came as a shocker (first reported by MiD DAY on March 19), here's another piece of news that Mumbai cricket-loving public will find hard to digest.

According to information compiled by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), the catering expenses incurred during three 2011 World Cup matches amounted to a whopping Rs 2.5 crore (approx).

Catering bills during practice sessions for World Cup games account for nearly Rs 40 lakh, according to an MCA source.

"This is shocking. Even if you assume a plate of food costs Rs 1500, it does not add up to so much," he said.
It is learnt that the MCA paid more than Rs 70 lakh for generators (six DG sets), hired at Rs 22,000 per day on match days and Rsu00a0 21,000 on practice days, during the refurbishment of the Wankhede Stadium and the World Cup. The MCA report said generators were on at the stadium from January 30, 2011 to April 2.

Over-looking job
The present MCA joint secretary Dr PV Shetty, who did not hold the post then, but was in-charge of catering during the World Cup, said: "I was only over-looking it. My job was to ensure that food is available. How would I know how much was spent on the food?"

MCA treasurer Ravi Savant said he would comment on the issue only after today's Managing Committee meeting.

Lalchand Rajput, who was the MCA joint secretary during the World Cup, was unavailable for comment.

Break-up of catering expenses
'u00a0Canada vs New Zealand (March 13, 2011): Total: Rs 3,671,583
'u00a0 New Zealand vs Sri Lanka (March 18, 2011): Total: Rs 4,990, 125
'u00a0 India vs Sri Lanka (April 2, 2011): Total: 16,380,220