Sawt Falasteen - World Cup fever as fans tie up hospital beds for India-Pakistan clash

Thousands of fans have descended on the western Indian city of Ahmedabad from across the country and overseas to witness a rare meeting of the bitter cricket rivals at the 132,000-seater stadium named after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A prominent hotel in the city usually charges 6,000 rupees ($72) for a deluxe room but on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the price for a day has been hiked to 70,000 rupees ($841).

However, by checking into a city hospital for a health check, the cost is 7,000 rupees ($84) a day.

"It's a double act, I believe. They want a full-body check up and an overnight stay, probably to watch the match," a city doctor told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"These are mostly NRIs (Non-resident Indians) from the United States and the UK who have booked deluxe one-bed rooms and have opted for a full health package."

The doctor added: "We have to be cautious with these bookings, because our primary aim is patient care. We can't just hand out a bed to watch the match. But we can't deny check-ups for patients with medical history."

Prices of flights have also gone up during the weekend while Indian railways has added two special trains for fans travelling between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

The two neighbours only play cricket with each other in international tournaments and their last bi-lateral meeting was when Pakistan toured India in 2012.

"We had booked a hotel in June soon after the schedule was announced, but had to re-adjust the dates when the match was brought forward by a day," Henish Patel, who has flown in from Birmingham to meet his family and watch the match, told AFP.

"We usually come to India during Diwali (one of the biggest festivals of the Hindu calender) but this time it's the India-Pakistan festival and here we are."

Pakistan journalists only this week received visas to travel for the World Cup ahead of the big match.

Fans, however, from across the border are still awaiting visa for travel to India.

Security has been on high alert for the contest with 11,000 police personnel deployed outside the stadium, which resembles a fortress even two days ahead of the match.

Babar Azam's Pakistan trained at the Modi Stadium on Thursday evening while India reached the city a day after they hammered Afghanistan in New Delhi.

V.Said--SF-PST