The IND Vs SA 4th T20I was scheduled to take place at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow which was initially delayed due to bad conditions and later called off. The political parties have slammed the Uttar Pradesh Government and the BCCI for scheduling the game in Lucknow at this time of the year.

Lucknow, December 17: Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday raised serious concerns over the rising pollution in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow after the T20I match between India and South Africa was called off due to smog and bad AQI.

The IND Vs SA 4th T20I was scheduled to take place at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow which was initially delayed due to bad conditions and later called off. The political parties have slammed the Uttar Pradesh Government and the BCCI for scheduling the game in Lucknow at this time of the year.

The game was reportedly called off dur to excessive smog and the BCCI earlier confirmed that the delay is due to the excessive smog in Lucknow. The live visuals from the stadium showed that there was very low visibility due to the smog. The floodlights were switched on, however, this also did not help in increasing the visibility.

The umpires conducted around six inspections of the ground on different timings. However, later they came to the conclusion that it was not possible to conduct the game under such circumstances and called off the game due to lack of visibility.

Taking to his official social media account, Akhilesh Yadav said, "Delhi's pollution has now reached Lucknow as well. That's why the international cricket match scheduled to be held in Lucknow is not taking place. Actually, the reason for this is not fog, but smog."

He also said, "The parks that we had built for Lucknow's pure air, the BJP government wants to ruin them too by organizing investment events there. BJP members are neither kin to humans nor to the environment. Cover your face because you are in Lucknow."

Criticising the BJP-led state government, Yadav alleged that parks developed during his tenure to ensure clean air in Lucknow were now being damaged due to encroachments. He accused the government of neglecting both people and the environment.

Ending his post with a sharp remark, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister urged residents to cover their faces, saying that the air quality in Lucknow had become so poor that masks were necessary.

Shashi Tharoor also reacted and said, "Cricket fans have been waiting in vain for the #INDVSSAODI to start in Lucknow. But thanks to dense smog, pervasive in most north Indian cities, and an AQI of 411, visibility is too poor to permit a game of cricket. They should’ve scheduled the game in Thiruvananthapuram, where AQI is about 68 right now!"

Akhilesh Yadav's comments come amid growing concerns over air pollution across north India, with several cities reporting poor to severe air quality levels.