Policewomen feel heat of India-Pakistan game

MOHALI, India, Mar 29 (AFP): It has been six hours since Harpreet Kaur last sat down for a meal, but she is not fasting for India's success against traditional foes Pakistan in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday. She is one of the many policewomen on duty at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium, venue for the epic clash between the arch-rivals, and time is precious. "This is turning out to be a forced fasting for me," the 23-year-old laughed wearily as she lit a stove to prepare some tea in a small cubicle which serves as a security check point for women entering the stadium. "Everybody is talking about the pressure on the teams to win the match. Nobody talks about us, there is so much pressure on us from our senior officers. "We have been told to frisk every bag at least twice and conduct complete body checks each time someone enters the ground. I think everything is being hyped up unnecessarily. "It does not seem just to be a match between two sides," she said. Another policewomen Supriya Kumari, 32, said she knew it would be a tough assignment when she was told that she will have to be on duty for the match. "I would have been happier if it was not an India-Pakistan match. There would not be so much drama then," she said. "Our jobs have been made tougher ever since we were told that prime ministers, governors and other high-profile guests will be flooding the stadium on match day. "Why can't they just let a game remain instead of turning it into a political showpiece?" India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invited his Pakistani counterpart Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to watch the game with him, which will be the first meeting between the leaders since April 2010 in Bhutan.