Kolkata, April 3 (IANS): While the glitzy Indian Premier League (IPL) opening ceremony at the Salt lake stadium Tuesday might have amused the spectators, the media which was relegated to mere audience by the organisers, were a harried lot.

The organisers, who already had barred the participation of photojournalists, ensured the reporters covering the event had a torrid time. Made to sit far away from the stage, and the unruly crowd blocking the giant screens, the journalists barely managed to witness the event.

With laptops banned inside the stadium, the smart-phones were thought to be the saving grace, but they too were rendered incompetent courtesy completely paralysed mobile networks.

It seemed as if the cellular networks too had joined the organisers in harassing the media.

While those who managed to dodge the Kolkata traffic and sneaked into the stadium in time, had the luxury of sitting on rickety chairs, the 'unfortunates' who came late had to jostle among the maddening crowd to finds a place to sit.

Rendered completely incompetent, most of the journalists had to rush back to their offices much before the show ended to try and cover the event watching it on TV.

If the harassment inside the stadium was not enough, the chaotic traffic outside the stadium added to the woes.