Controversy about facilities for the Commonwealth Games 2010 continue to haunt India
The greatest sporting spectacle in India for almost two decades continues to be plagued with management issues as the village made to host the athletes has been described as horrible by some of the organisers.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Mike Hooper, made a scathing attack on the facilities that have been put in place for the prestigious sporting event. He called the conditions in some parts
of the athletes' village dirty and uninhabitable.
Hooper added that the conditions had to improve substantially and quickly if the Games are to go down as a successful event.
"We have emphasised the importance of addressing the issue of the conditions and the cleanliness of the Games Village…many, many of the hotels were filthy, and certainly uninhabitable," Hooper told a news conference.
"We were given promises that this would be remedied by September 19. Unfortunately whilst it is fair to say there was some progress, it was certainly insufficient to satisfy the majority of the CGAs (Commonwealth Games associations)
who are currently here or have representatives here," he added.
He hoped that the hosts would get their act together and speed up their efforts to salvage their battered reputation.
"I was pleased to hear that the cabinet secretary was at the village this morning and reviewing things for himself. So clearly, he's taken the matter extremely seriously because it is serious and hopefully we'll see some significant
actions and improvements in the next two days," said Hooper.
Perhaps an even greater indication of the poor organisation was that barely three hours after Hooper's comments as many as 23 people suffered injuries when a footbridge near the main stadium collapsed.
The hosts are expecting a staggering two million tourists in New Delhi for the Games aside from the 10,000 athletes that will represent 54 Commonwealth member states.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Delhi State, Sheila Dikshit, blamed the dodgy weather for the severe disruptions in the final. She made her observations after inspecting some of the sporting and accommodation facilities that have been
put in place for the Games.
Dikshit reviewed various roads and bridges that are going to be used to transport players, officials and fans back and forth from venues. Unfortunately, though severe rain fell on the city in the last week or so, the poor organisation
has brought doubts over whether the infrastructure will be good enough by the time the Games start.
"We are conducting inspections. Whatever faults there are, we will complete them by the next week. The slight rains have surely caused some disruptions because of which work has become slow but despite that, work is happening and
we will complete it. Hence, we are conducting surveys," said Sheila Dikshit, the Delhi state chief.
The government official added that another cause of concern for the organisers is the rising level of water in the River Yamuna and said that the state is ready to tackle any kind of emergency situation.
"Yes, a lot of water has come; our minister Chauhan (Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control minister) and commissioner… have made all the arrangements. Whatever 600,000 to 700,000 cusec will come, we are ready to face it. Yes, there
is no doubt of that," observed Sheila Dikshit.
Amid the recent trouble it remains to be seen as to what the hosts can garner out of the event as their reputation takes a major hit even before the commencement of the sporting extravaganza.
Tags: