Delhi Commonwealth Games – A bad omen to be avoided
The much talked about inaugurating ceremony of the Delhi Commonwealth Games seems to be ineffective in front of the severe criticism coming in from all sides of the world. Recently, while presenting the holistic picture of the event, the experts lamented
the fact that the problem started when 46 countries who happen to be the members of the commonwealth, while disregarding the merit standards, voted against Canada and gave the chance to India to make a mess out of such a prestigious event in the world of sports.
They said that even if the poor preparedness for the event, annoying attitude of indifference and sheer lack of professionalism at part of Delhi Administration are ignored, still there are issues which need to be addressed head on, and an honest analysis
should be made so that such mishaps can be avoided in the future.
In order to do well, India had 7 long years to make the necessary preparations for organizing the event as it won the bid back in 2003 while defeating Canada for organizing 19th commonwealth games. Last year, after a span of six years, after having
a thorough analysis of the situation, the president of Commonwealth Games Mr. Mike Fennel aired his fears in front of world media that there were severe risks of commonwealth games to be delayed from the schedule as at Delhi, out of 19, 13 mega constructions
were still to be completed with. Furthermore, the president also showed high concerns over the then prevailing security conditions in the country.
The Indian administration, as it was expected from it, took everything lightly. Around some 15 days before the inauguration of the event, reports about gunmen opening fire on the bus of the tourists in Delhi were aired on electronic media worldwide. The
incident left two persons severely injured and raised a serious question on the security measures made in the city.
As soon as the delegates from commonwealth countries started visiting New Delhi to have a clear picture about the arrangements, they found the athletes’ village rather filthy and unliveable. Safety of the overall infrastructure also came under question when
a footbridge near the main venue collapsed and ceiling of the weight lifting avenue fell down. Putting long in short, with each passing day, newer and newer issues surfaced which provided the media world with solid reasons to criticize the country.
Among others, a main cause of concern was the issue of transportation and the installation of proper security and intelligence network like CCTV cameras upon all the venues and the deployment of around 100,000 security officials. On administration part,
all the issues kept on lingering despite of severe criticism coming in from all parts of the world.
To have an idea about what could have been a desired state of the issues, we may take help by analyzing the Beijing Olympics held in 2008. China had finished all the necessary preparations well ahead before the start of the event. In fact China also invited
the security officials from around the world to disseminate the details of world’s most comprehensive security plan. The well-ahead completion of all the necessary preparations also provided a chance to the world media to build up a positive image of the event.
Completely contrary to the professionalism and commitment observed in China during the Beijing Olympics 2008, New Delhi came up with a new excuse with every passing day. No doubt the spectators around the globe had high expectations from India regarding
conducting the event, however, the way it has delivered, the whole event has been plagued by the severe criticism.
The main reasons behind the pathetic state of affairs at New Delhi were lack of professional attitude, absence of sense of responsibility among the authorities, sever corruption, nepotism and the tradition of procrastination. The way India has dealt with
the much awaited event; it has posed severe questions over the country’s ability for hosting any larger sport event in the future.
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