(Heaps of sandwiches that were left to rot by the organisers at Azad Maidan.)

Over 40,000 Mumbaiites woke up before the crack of dawn on Sunday to do what they love doing every year: running the Mumbai marathon. When they finished running the course and the cameras stopped clicking, what was left behind at Azad Maidan were heaps of carefully packed sandwiches - food that could have fed the many hungry souls in and around Azad Maidan. Instead, the sandwiches are raising a stink.On Monday, players from CNMS (Vile Parle) and St Anne's High School (Malad) were battling it out in the inter-school cricket Harris Shield tournament organised by the Mumbai Schools Sports Association.All the participants and hangers-on complained about was the stench and the sight of food wasting away.Ashutosh Sanas, the coach of CNMS said: "The stench was unbearable. All the passers-by were shocked at the sight of food being wasted when it could have fed so many hungry stomachs."The event was organised by Procam International. Dilip Jayram, its CEO, told Mumbai Mirror: "We are also shocked that so much food has got wasted and we could have deployed it better. It is a tough environment. We need to distribute it to the participants, while the rag pickers and slum dwellers swarm the course. Besides, 72 hours is the cleaning time required to clean Azad Maidan. We will be taking it up with the agency and relevant teams. I apologise for it. Next time I will make sure nothing of the sort happens. I will get to the bottom of this as we have our clearing department to do the needful."One of the organisers who spoke to Mumbai Mirror on the condition of anonymity put it more succinctly than Dilip Jayram. "The food had to be hidden under tables to prevent slum dwellers from stealing some. What happened is that once the race was over, the agency meant to do the clean-up simply forgot about what was kept in cartons under the table. That is why you see the heap of food at Azad Maidan," the organiser said.Over 42,000 refreshment packs were ordered for the Mumbai Marathon: each pack contained a cheese sandwich, a banana slice cake, an apple and 2 slivers of a chocolate, a sachet of slim milk, iced tea powder and a sealed glass of water. The refreshment pack was ordered from Birdy's.At least 20 corporate sponsors were part of the Mumbai Marathon; Mumbai police and Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai supported the event and yet nothing was done to prevent the wastage.