Gujarat: Seven illegal box cricket setups sealed in Surat after shed collapse

Surat, July 1 The shed of an illegal box cricket setup on Ramkatha Road in Surat’s Katargam zone in Gujarat collapsed on Tuesday, leaving one person injured.

The incident prompted immediate action by the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), which sealed seven unauthorised box cricket venues in the area.

According to officials, the injured player was at ‘The Dot Ball Box’ when the makeshift iron structure collapsed.

The collapse exposed glaring safety lapses and brought into focus the unchecked proliferation of similar setups across the city. While civic authorities had earlier issued notices to several operators for running box cricket venues without proper permits or structural safety clearances, no decisive action was taken until the collapse forced the administration’s hand.

Following the incident, SMC teams moved quickly, sealing the’ Dot Ball Box’ and six other illegal venues in Katargam. The facilities shut down include Maruti Cricket near Madhavanand Ashram, The Knock Out near Gopin Bungalows, Friend Box near Pramukh Darshan Society, Century Turf opposite Motived Bhawani Bagh, GG Box in Nani Ved, and Sixer Zone Box in Singanpore.

Civic officials also plan to launch a citywide survey to identify and act against similar unauthorised box cricket setups operating in other zones.

“These facilities are often built on open plots with flimsy structures and no safety compliance. Public safety is non-negotiable,” said an SMC officer.

Meanwhile, Gujarat is grappling with a growing crisis of dilapidated buildings, particularly in older urban areas such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, and Rajkot.

According to recent data from the Urban Development Department and municipal corporations, over 9,000 buildings across the state have been classified as "dangerous" or "unfit for habitation" as of mid-2025.

Ahmedabad tops the list, with more than 3,000 structures identified as highly risky, most of them located in the walled city, Jamalpur, and Dariyapur areas, where many buildings are over 70 to 100 years old and have seen minimal maintenance. Surat has flagged around 1,500 structures, mainly in the old city zones like Nanpura, Bhagal, and Gopipura.

In Vadodara, nearly 800 buildings are under close civic scrutiny, while Rajkot has tagged over 700 as unsafe. The monsoon season heightens the risk significantly, with frequent incidents of partial collapses, wall cave-ins, and water seepage weakening already fragile foundations.

Despite repeated surveys and eviction notices issued by municipal bodies, many residents continue to live in these unsafe buildings due to a lack of affordable alternatives.

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