Commonwealth Games in danger
The officials of the Canadian Commonwealth Games have joined the international chorus voicing concern regarding the state of the athlete’s village for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in India.
The Games look to be in danger less than two weeks prior to the opening ceremony to be held in New Delhi on Oct. 3.
People are wondering whether the competition will go ahead as scheduled in the middle of complaints regarding the athlete’s village, as well the collapse of a footbridge across the main stadium of New Delhi on Tuesday that injured twenty-seven people.
"We are gravely concerned that the situation of the residence facilities is not at all what we actually thought and expected, nor anything what was committed”, said Scott Stevenson, who is the director of sport for Commonwealth Games Canada, on Tuesday.
Scott is in Delhi for the final preparations of the arrival of his team. The first batch of Canadian players are expected to land on Friday in New Delhi, casting severe doubts on whether their accommodations will be all set and up to the mark or not.
"Along with the basic clean up that is needed, there are other problems such as furnishings, plumbing, wiring, internet access as well as mobile telephone coverage. We are completely aware of the fact that the recent monsoon rains have made things tougher
for the workers. However, the present situation is unacceptable and we have submitted a formal request to the Federation of the Commonwealth Games and the organizing committee to resolve these problems prior to the athlete arrivals that will start from Friday”,
said Stevenson.
According to recent reports, Scotland, Northern Ireland, New Zealand as well as Canada have asked their teams to be put up in hotels in case their accommodations are not ready.
However, the CEO of the Commonwealth Games Canada, Tom Jones told the reporters that the organization would be extremely reluctant, if not against in shifting Canadian athletes outside the village as it would put them outside the security bubble.
The president of the Commonwealth Games, Dr. Andrew Pipe was of the view that the organization is quite satisfied with Delhi's security preparations and with the situation of the tournament as well as the training venues. But his organization is extremely
disappointed with both the Delhi organizing committee as well as the Indian government with the overall cold response regarding the athlete’s accommodation.
No deadline has so far been set for deciding whether to go ahead with sending the players from Canada to New Delhi, however, Pipe clarified that the Commonwealth Games Canada continues to monitor the overall scenario on the ground on an hour-to-hour and
day-to-day basis.
A shot putter Dylan Armstrong from Canada, who is one of the favourites to grab a gold medal in India, said he is more worried about the security and safety than the quality of the accommodation.
"I would be lying if I was saying that I was not worried", Armstrong told reporters on Tuesday.
As a result of the delays in the completion of the athlete’s village, the President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Michael Fennell decided to contact the government of India on Tuesday and urged them to complete the work on the accommodation.
The preparation of Commonwealth Games has been affected further as a result of the construction of infrastructure and venues and falling behind schedule, causing concern regarding the quality and safety of the buildings.
These concerns were intensified on Tuesday after a footbridge across the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi collapsed.
Tags: