Terrorism Fear might mar the Delhi Commonwealth Games
Yesterday the shocking news of two tourists getting injured in a terrorist shooting attack has turned the spotlight once again onto the Delhi Commonwealth Games. The Games have already been marred by security threats, inadequate facilities for the athletes,
corruption allegations and massive delays. There was even talk that the Games would be cancelled due to all these factors.
However, organisers pushed on and kept at it and the event seemed to be back on track until the devastating events of yesterday. This latest attack will be a PR disaster for the organisers who will have to find a way to reassure the world that India is a
safe place to send their athletes to. There is the real danger now of countries not sending their athletes to the Games and this will be a huge blow for the overall event and for the Commonwealth Games in general.
The Commonwealth Games are all set to take place in Delhi from the 3rd to the 14th of October and it looks to be a spectacular affair. The Games were meant as a launching pad for India into the 21st Century of sports and
give it an economic boost in the process. This was meant to be similar to what took place in Beijing in 2008 when the Olympic Games were hosted there. India though is a much more dangerous place compared to China. Since 2000, India has suffered 14 major terrorist
attacks that have resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives and massive damage to infrastructure and the stability of the country. With over 7000 athletes and officials from all over the world going to be descending on Delhi in the next few weeks besides the
huge number of tourists expected to attend, the venue of the Commonwealth Games will become a potential target for terrorist attacks to take place.
The latest attack to take place in Delhi happened yesterday when gunmen seriously injured two Taiwanese tourists with an automatic machine gun. The attack took place near a large tourist site, Jama Masjid, and even though the injuries were not life threatening,
the incident brings the focus right back to the level of security in the city. The Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, has appealed to people not to panic and this was an isolated incident that although very bad did not result in the loss of life. The
head of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Mike Hooper, echoed the Chief Minister’s sentiments by saying that there was no evidence at the moment that the attack had anything to do with the Games and looked to be a separate and isolated incident. These comments
are interesting because the natural thing that would happen after an attack of this kind is that people will panic, they will get extremely worried about their own safety in travelling to Delhi and would automatically assume there was a link between the incident
and the Games. The sad part of this is that India is a very tourist friendly place and a large number of foreign tourists visit the country every year. If these types of incidents start to increase they will have far reaching effects on the economy and tourism
of the country.
Athletic fans would love to see the Games take place in India, but not at the cost of people’s lives. Organisers and the Indian government do not want to see a repeat of the bloody massacre that took place during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich where 8
athletes were killed in a brutal terrorist attack. India can really benefit from the increased awareness and uplifting effect the Commonwealth Games will have on the country. The government will have to increase security to satisfy the security concerns of
countries like Australia and New Zealand that are seriously considering pulling their athletes out of the competition.
The Games will be a big boost for India if they can take place on time, with all the proper facilities in place and not be overshadowed by a terrorist attack. Hopefully the event will go off without a hitch and the world will be treated to 12 days of excellent
athletic competition.
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