CWG mess: Manmohan intervenes after delegates fume-21/09/2010

21/09/2010

CWG mess: Manmohan intervenes after delegates fume

New Delhi: With just 12 days to go for the Commonwealth Games, host India faced the prospect of major international embarrassment on Tuesday with both its showpiece structures, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the Games Village, coming under harsh scrutiny, forcing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene once again.



An under-construction foot overbridge near the main venue of the CWG collapsed, injuring 23 labourers, five of them seriously, just as Games officials and several foreign contingents complained that the village was still not fit for accommodation.

In a major blow to the preparations for the mega sporting event, expected to be attended by about 7,000 participants and officials from 71 countries and territories, the foot overbridge linking the Nehru Stadium to the parking lot, collapsed leaving red-faced officials scrambling for an explanation.

Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said the bridge would be rebuilt in 10 days, just in time for the opening ceremony on Oct 3.

"The bridge was constructed by Hyderabad-based PNR Infra at a cost of Rs.5 crore (Rs.50 million/$1 million). Construction was to be completed in two-three days," Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan told IANS.

The opening and closing ceremonies ceremony of the Oct 3-14 Games, the biggest sporting event being hosted by India since the 1982 Asian Games, will be held at the stadium that will also host the athletics and other field and track events.

The accident came as CWG president Michael Fennell said parts of the Village needed "urgent attention" and hygiene concerns were raised by New Zealand, Scotland, England and Canada amongst others.

Complaints that stray dogs were jumping on the beds, that the towers were full of rubbish and that the toilets were filthy came in from the contingents. But Indian officials dismissed these complaints, saying these things happen everywhere before major events and "standards of hygiene differ" from country to country.

Fennell gave the Organising Committee (OC) just 24 hours to take "quick action" and set things right before the athletes start arriving on Thursday.



In a stern letter to Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekar, the government's top pointsperson for the Games preparations, he said: "I am expecting some serious action in the next 24 hours. We have been waiting for the Village to be ready before the athletes arrive but we have not seen any action so far."

"Many nations that have already sent their advanced parties to set up within the village made it abundantly clear that, as of the afternoon of September 20, the Commonwealth Games village is seriously compromised."

The Village has 1,168 apartments spread across 34 towers that will house the more than 7,000 athletes and officials.Fennel's colleague, CGF chief executive Mike Hooper said the conditions at the Games Village were "filthy and unlivable."

New Zealand team's chef de mission Dave Currie, who has been camping here for a week, warned that the Games could be called off.

"That's not a decision that we'll make (alone) but there are some realities. If the village is not ready and athletes can't come, obviously the implications of that are that it's (the Games) not going to happen," he was quoted as saying by the New Zealand Herald newspaper.

"They've got a little bit of time but it's kind of two seconds to midnight really."

His prime minister, John Key, was quick to respond.



"There's no point in sending them to Delhi if they end up feeling like I currently feel at the moment. We need to make sure they are fit and healthy and can compete well," Key was quoted as saying in the New Zealand media.

His comments came a day after he said that Games should be held despite the shooting incident outside the Jama Masjid mosque that left two Taiwanese nationals injured in the Indian capital Sunday.

Scotland too hit out and said the village was "unsafe and unfit for human habitation".

Team Scotland in a statement said they are currently still planning to take part in the Games but have warned they "will not compromise on issues of health, safety and security".

"The athletes' village is not only at the heart of any Commonwealth Games, but is fundamental to the staging of the event," a Commonwealth Games Scotland statement read.

As the events of the day unfolded with unhappy rapidity, the Indian prime minister swung into action.

He summoned Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna and directed him to personally oversee the clean-up and refurbishment of the apartments to house athletes and officials, a senior official told IANS.

Khanna will be submitting a day-to-day status report to the prime minster. He was summoned after Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, who visited the billage in the morning, submitted a report to Manmohan Singh.

On his part, Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said these were "minor hiccups" and he was "confident and cool" that "we will have a very successful Games".

OC secretary general Lalit Bhanot promised that things would be cleaned up at the soonest.

"We have told the Chefs de Mission that the level of hygiene and cleanliness at the Games Village will be upgraded within 36 hours. We are doing entire cleaning of the residential wing. In fact cleaning in the 50 percent of the towers is already complete and the remaining will be done in 36 hours."

Source: IANS



Bridge collapse near main CWG stadium injures many labourers

New Delhi: In a major embarrassment for organisers of the Commonwealth Games, an under-construction foot overbridge today collapsed outside the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the main venue of the Commonwealth Games, injuring 23 labourers.

Five of the injured are seriously injured in the incident that occurred at 3.10 PM in Lodhi Road area of South Delhi, police said.

The 95-metre long bridge was being built along with another overbridge at the cost of Rs 10.5 crore by Chandigarh-based company PNR Infra, Delhi government sources told PTI.

Public Works Department of Delhi government, which had given the contract to PNR Infra for constructing the overbridge as ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The bridge, whose construction was to be completed soon, was to connect the parking lot of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where the opening and closing functions of Commonwealth Games would be held.



Fire department officials said the labourers were putting concrete mix at a portion of the bridge when the incident took place.

PWD Chief Engineer Rakesh Mishra admitted that the incident was a "setback" but expressed confidence that the project would be completed before the Games that start on October 3.

Yesterday, two police personnel, including an officer, had suffered injuries when a canopy erected at the stadium fell on them.



Finally, PMO steps in!

Meanwhile, on a day of disastrous developments with CGF Chief and President both speaking in a tough language, the Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh has stepped in to try and save the faltering CWG 2010. The PMO's office has ordered the Lt. Governor of Delhi to clean up the CWG mess. MSN learns PMO officials are likely to spring into action and visit the Games' sites over the next 24 hours.




Cabinet Secretary on a clean-up visit

Amidst complaints by several countries about the "substandard" conditions in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) Village, Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar visited the site Tuesday and asked officials to "clean up fast", an official said. Chandrasekhar instructed senior officials in the urban development ministry and the Organising Committee (OC) to clean up the Village fast and put the fixtures in order, a senior official told IANS.

In August, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked Chandrasekhar to coordinate with OC and speed up the arrangements for the Games, to be held from Oct 3 to 14. New Zealand, Scotland, Canada and Ireland had complained of substandard upkeep and poor arrangements in the apartments allotted to their contingents.

The initial batches of athletes for the CWG are scheduled to check-in at the Village Thursday. About 7,000 participants and officials from 71 countries and territories are expected to attend the Commonwealth Games, India's biggest sporting event after the 1982 Asian Games.




Disaster hits CWG 2010 at the last minute. What's going on?

First, the Games were dogged by corruption. Then deadline problems and now final nail in the coffin. Humiliation. The CGF has issued a final warning to Suresh Kalmadi and his men to clean the Village or face the music.

Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Michael Fennell Tuesday said that parts of the Commonwealth Games Village are still not fit for the accommodation of athletes and asked the Organising Committee to take "quick action" in the next 24 hours to set it right before the athletes start arriving Thursday. Fennell, who had raised concerns about the Village during his visit last month, has written a letter to Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekar, the government's pointsperson for the Games preparations, expressing his concerns over the Village.

"I am expecting some serious action in the next 24 hours. We have been waiting for the Village to be ready before the athletes arrive but we have not seen any action so far," Fennell said.

"I raised the matter with authorities. The Village residential zone needs a lot of attention. It needs to be fixed urgently. The athletes come first," he added.



In his letter to Chandrashekar, Fennell wrote: "The Village is the cornerstone of any Games and the athletes deserve the best possible environment to prepare for their competition."

"The Village is the cornerstone of any Games and the athletes deserve the best possible environment to prepare for their competition. The condition of the residential zone has shocked the majority," he added.

Organising Committee vice chairman Randhir Singh admitted that there are certain issues to be addressed.

"There were some towers in the Village that was dirtied by labourers working there. Twenty-four hours is a long time and we will see to it that everything is in place before the athletes arrive. Everyone has appreciated the Village."





CWG under serious risk of being called off due to poor 'Village'

Auckland: The Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, scheduled to begin Oct 3, is under serious risk of being called off, the New Zealand team's chef de mission Dave Currie said Tuesday.

The unprepared state of the athletes village has stunned foreign delegates in the Indian capital and there was a mountain to climb to have it ready for its official opening Friday, when the first athletes are scheduled to arrive, Currie said. Currie has accepted an offer from the Games Organising Committee (OC) to shift from their allocated accommodation - which he described as "substandard" - to another tower in the village premises.




Accommodation 'extremely disappointing'

Currie Tuesday said the prospects of the Games being cancelled were now very real. "That's not a decision that we'll make (alone) but there are some realities. If the village is not ready and athletes can't come, obviously the implications of that are that it's not going to happen," he was quoted as saying by the New Zealand Herald.
"I think they (Commonwealth Games Federation) are in severe difficulties. In the time frame that is left, unless there is tremendous effort and energy and problem-solving ability to get it done, I think it's going to be extremely hard to get across the line. "They've got a little bit of time but it's kind of two seconds to midnight really."
Currie said the half-built nature of New Zealand's proposed accommodation was "extraordinarily disappointing" to his delegation when they arrived last week.




'It's pretty grim really'

There was a large amount of post-construction cleanup to be completed, along with issues surrounding cleanliness, plumbing, wiring, internet and mobile phones.

"It's pretty grim really and certainly disappointing when you consider the amount of time they've had to get the village ready for athletes to arrive," he said, noting there was still remedial work to be carried out on their new area.

New Zealand Olympic Committee officials were flying to India Tuesday to inspect the village while Fennell also planned to arrive soon to "assess the situation first hand and provide our member countries and territories with a frank assessment".




CWG residential zone 'shocking'

Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Michael Fennell Tuesday described the village as "seriously compromised."

He said, "final preparations for the Commonwealth Games Village have been of concern to the CGF since viewing the residential zone along with a number of Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) advance parties on September 15th."

Fennell said problems arose due to constant pushing out of building deadlines. Now increased security around the site was slowing the building process. New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) president Mike Stanley and secretary-general Barry Maister left for New Delhi Tuesday.

Stanley said New Zealand was working with five other nations - England, Scotland, Wales, Canada and Australia - in assessing preparations for the Games. He said the group had voiced their concerns "at the highest possible level. What they are frustrated by is not enough action, not enough quick action, to see that, between the time we have now and the athletes coming into the village, or even the opening of the Games, things are going to be ready," he said.




'Unlivable' conditions at the Village

Fennel's comments came after New Zealand, Canada, Scotland and Ireland have objected strongly to the condition of the accommodation given to them in the Village.

The contingent had said that the living conditions "unlivable" and had asked the Games organising committee to put their officials and athletes in hotels if they could not set apartments right.

The Games have been in trouble from the word go and have been dogged by a number of controversies and scams. The Organising Committee is now left struggling at the last minute to get the Games ready and successful. Their cause has not been helped by inclement weather prevalent in North India for the last few days.

Source: Agencies/India Syndicate