The Jawaharlal Nehru international stadium here, which is the venue of the first one-day international match (ODI) between India and Australia scheduled for Sunday, has been fully covered by nets by Matsyafed, a Kerala government organisation to safeguard players from bottle- and stone-throwing.
The 325,000-sft net covers the entire stadium including the pitch from the spectators’ gallery. The stadium has been covered with 1.5 mm UV-treated high-density poly ethylene (HDPE) fishing nets produced by the Kerala State Cooperative Federation for the fisheries development (Matsyafed) in its net factory at Kochi.
It took ten days for the organisation to produce the net and complete the installation in the stadium. The VIP pavilion of the stadium also will have the same protection.
The common tendency of throwing pieces of paper, used water bottles and cans shall be curtailed thanks to the strong net which would not affect the visibility of the match.
The ultra violet treatment provided in these nets also helps reduction of temperature inside the stadium. The nets can be rolled back after use and could be reused, according to a Matsyafed press release.