Bridge collapse in Delhi raises serious concerns for Commonwealth Games
First it was the threat of disease, earlier this week there was a random shooting, now a bridge that was supposed to have carried thousands of athletes and spectators to the main Commonwealth Games venue
has collapsed causing 23 people to be injured, five of them seriously.
It seems whatever can go wrong, is going wrong in Delhi as the Games’ opening ceremony nears.
Already there have been infrastructure delays which have been blamed on corruption and political infighting. Now there is a concern that rushed attempts to finish construction by 3 October, the opening
of the Games, has caused safety concerns for athletes and spectators.
Rakesh Mishra, the Commonwealth Games’ chief engineer, said that the bridge fell because of a loose pin. There will be an inquiry into the accident, but Mishra stated that the collapse was not caused by
the monsoon that has been pouring down rain for the past two days.
The organising committee for the Games has already been accused of shoddy construction by the Central Vigilance Commission, but Congress Party MP Suresh Kalmadi dismissed the allegations, stating that
the 2010 Commonwealth Games would be the "best ever, even better than the 2008 Beijing Olympics".
Some feel much to the contrary of that.
"Many nations that have already sent their advance parties to set up within the village made it abundantly clear that, as of the afternoon of Sept 20, the Commonwealth Games village is seriously compromised,”
said Micheal Fennel, the head of the Commonwealth Games Federation.
Some of the concerns are over toilets that leak or don’t flush, debris piled up in bedrooms, and incomplete electrical wiring. The recent monsoon has also created a number of pools of water, which has
increased an already large population of mosquitoes, and inflated risks of contracting dengue fever and malaria.
Countries have done their best to support India and the Delhi Games by commenting that they will not drop out after health concerns arose, and after Sunday’s shooting, but countries are becoming increasingly
concerned with reports that the village is incomplete and unsafe.
"The reality is that if the village is not ready and athletes can’t come, the implications are that it’s not going to happen,” said New Zealand’s chef de mission Dave Currie.
Scottish team officials lodged a complaint stating the village was “unsafe and unfit for human habitation.”
With many star athletes already backing out of the Games because of injury, or to rest for next season, ticket sales are low and Delhi stands to lose significant amounts of money. These consistent setbacks
are putting the Commonwealth Games at serious risk.
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