Commonwealth Games organisers rush to finish facilities as first teams arrive

Commonwealth Games organisers rush to finish facilities as first teams

arrive


Scotland prepares to send its athletes to the Games in India
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Cleaners wait to clean the athletes' village in Delhi, ahead of the Commonwealth Games. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP
The head of the Commonwealth Games has warned that much more work remains to be done before the beleaguered sporting event opens in Delhi in less than a week.

Mike Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games federation, said India's last-minute push to clean and finish facilities was paying dividends, but expressed frustration that extra resources were only committed at the last minute.

As criticism of the filthy athletes' village escalated over the past week and some teams threatened to pull out, Indian officials sent hundreds of extra workers to get the facilities in shape.

Fennell told reporters: "There's still a lot of work to be done, to do the final touches, and there's more work in the village. It's not over yet."

He said the problems centered on the clean-up of the athletes' village, especially water in the basements that was proving very difficult to remove.

Workers were also trying to sort out transportation and technology difficulties, as well as issues concerning security and fire safety, he said.

Organisers took groups of journalists and ambassadors from more than 50 participating countries to the village. Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese said: "Obviously, you have to keep at it to make the village good enough to receive athletes," he said.

The first foreign competitors – the English hockey and lawn bowling teams – arrived on Friday. Although they will stay in hotels before moving to the village, their arrival eased concerns about a mass pullout from the event, scheduled to start on 3 October. New Zealand and Australia, both harsh critics of India's preparations, said their athletes would attend.

Northern Ireland also agreed to go to the games, saying that "progress has been made over the last few days", and Scotland's team – which had delayed its departure – was to fly to India on Saturday.

Fennell welcomed the announcements. "I am very happy that today we are recording that there will be full participation in the games," he said.

India's image has been battered by negative publicity over its frantic last-minute preparations for the Olympic-style competition that brings together around 7,000 athletes and officials from 71 countries and territories. The prime minister and Delhi's chief minister got involved in dealing with problems at the village, dangerous construction, swarms of disease-carrying mosquitoes and security fears.

City officials deployed as many as 1,000 workers to clean the village and make repairs. Hundreds more workers were scattered across the city, doing everything from painting lines on roads to laying fresh grass in front of officials' houses, and spraying mosquitoes. Police roadblocks and teams of soldiers with assault rifles have become commonplace.

Fennell expressed concern that those resources were only committed at the last minute. "While it was very sad that much of this work has not been done before .. the efforts are paying off, and we have to ensure that it's completed and sustained right throughout the games," he said, adding that some apartment buildings in the village still needed extensive work.

Suresh Kalmadi, the head of the local organising committee, who has come under intense criticism for the problems, said he was certain everything would be complete in time. "There's still eight days left for the Games to happen, and we will, in the next couple of days, three days, finish all the work that needs to be done," he said.

Craig Hunter, England's chef de mission, said he was glad to see the work in the village. "We are in a phase of looking at the detail, making sure that fire and safety equipment and procedures are in place and that the apartments are clean and safe."

But he warned that the authorities had to work even harder: "Our next wave of athletes arrives on Sunday and a lot needs to happen before then. So more and swift action is required," he said in a statement.

English hockey player Ben Middleton said: "The flats are spacious, which is good for a major games, but there are bits and pieces to be done to bring them up to standard."