Snakes found in CWG athletes village as river levels rise
There are many reasons for athletes to back out of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi that are set to start on Sunday. The latest reason is poisonous snakes. A three-and-a-half foot cobra was found in the
tennis stadium, and another snake was found in an athlete’s room.
Before any of Delhi’s problems became public, many athletes dropped out of the Games because of injury or fatigue. With the World Championships coming up next year and the Olympics after that, it comes
as no surprise that many would want to rest in preparation.
Now as concerns surrounding the health and safety of the athletes mount, more and more are deciding to back out of the Games for reasons other than injury or fatigue.
India has been hit with a heavier than normal monsoon season this year, which first caused outbreaks of dengue fever and malaria as the mosquito population increased. Now the monsoons are raising the water
levels of the Yamuna River, causing snakes to move inland.
“We have very grave concerns. If snakes are found, we can't ask our teams to stay there. It is really a threat to the lives of all our athletes,” said South Africa's High Commissioner Harris Mbulelo.
Last week a bridge collapsed, injuring over two dozen people. At first the blame was put on the monsoons, but Rakesh Mishra, the Commonwealth Games’ chief engineer, said it was because of a loose pin.
Early visits to the athlete’s village have revealed that there are more concerns than just snakes, although poisonous snakes is more than enough reason to avoid the village. Many of the rooms are incomplete,
have debris piled up in them, or have leaky toilets. Stray dogs have even been rounded up in the village after paw prints were found on some of the beds.
One team that’s refusing to back out of the Games is the English team. While they are missing Lisa Dobriskey, Chrstine Ohurugu, Mo Farah, and Phillips Idowu for various reasons, the team is expected to
move into the athlete’s village on Monday.
“It’s exciting but also a relief to be able to occupy our accommodation,” said England’s chef de mission, Craig Hunter. “It has been a challenging experience but one that will make us stronger as we strive
to be successful now on the field of play.”
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