Fans throng hospitals for overnight stay as Indo-Pak hysteria grips Ahmedabad

NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD : Cricket fever has gripped Ahmedabad ahead of Saturday's World Cup group stage clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan and a visit to the hospitals near the venue of the match in the western Indian city clearly shows the degree of excitement.

Quite a few of the hospitals have seen a sudden influx of patients booked in for check-ups involving a night's stay to coincide with the most anticipated match of the World Cup.

Several doctors told local media the rush for check-up 'packages' was an ingenious way to find affordable accommodation as hotel costs have soared up to 20 fold ahead of the match.

"We have come across some cases of people coming to watch the India-Pakistan match also taking an appointment for health check-ups and staying in hospitals," Tushar Patel, President of the Ahmedabad Medical Association, told Reuters.

The Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association has discouraged its members from accommodating such fans.

"We have asked our members not to entertain such requests. Hospitals are not meant for non-patients," its president Bharat Gadhavi told Reuters.

THREE WARS

The Asian neighbours have fought three wars since becoming separate countries in 1947 and the relationship further soured after gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai in 2008, which India blamed on a Pakistani militant group.

While bilateral cricket became a casualty of geopolitical realities, it also whetted the appetite for a clash between neighbours who play each other only in multi-team events.

India and Pakistan head into the showdown having both won their opening two matches at the tournament.

The first batch of tickets for Saturday's game were sold out within an hour of going on sale in August, prompting the Board of