72 hrs more for village cleanup

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Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit with Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar during an inspection of the village on Sunday.

The 19th Commonwealth Games are less than a week away but, contrary to assurances by the organising committee, government authorities and various agencies, the athletes’ village is far from being “liveable”. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit spent over an hour and a half inspecting conditions at the `1,350-crore village and asked for 72 hours more to complete the cleanup job.
Built over a 11-hectare area, the sprawling village complex has 1,168 flats and 4,008 rooms. The OC had claimed that out of the 34 towers, 18 that were handed over in time were in top condition but work still remained in the other 16 towers.
With the chief minister asking for three more days, it clearly illustrates the amount of work still pending at the village. The various governmental and civic agencies have clearly failed on the both the planning and implementation front.
“I was here to look after the coordination and facilities for players and delegates. About 45 senior officials are stationed here to sort out all problems,” Ms Dikshit told reporters here on Sunday. She also ran into Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar during the inspection, and they toured a part of the complex together.
Ms Dikshit added that the entire work would be completed by Wednesday and about 600 flats would be handed over by Monday. But more problems cropped up at the village on Sunday, a day after boxer Akhil Kumar’s bed collapsed.
A snake was found in one of the apartments earmarked for the South African contingent. “Yesterday (Saturday), we found a snake in one of the apartments. We have serious concerns about the facilities. It is really disappointing,” said South African high commissioner Harris Mbulelo Sithembile Majeke.
“We can’t go and stay till things are fixed up. If snakes are found, we can’t ask our teams to stay there. Yesterday ... we found the basement was full of water and the staircase was also damp.”
More athletes have pulled out of the Games, with Australian cyclist Travis Meyer and table tennis player Stephanie Sang joining the list on Sunday, citing health and security concerns. Scottish tennis star Elena Baltacha, ranked 50th in the world, also withdrew.
Meanwhile, unlike Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell (who incidentally also inspected the village on Sunday), the international body’s CEO Mike Hooper on Sunday refused to share the blame for the mess surrounding the Games in New Delhi. Mr Hooper blamed the Indian government, the Delhi government and all other agencies involved in delivery of venues for the disappointing situation.
Launching a fresh offensive against the OC, with which he has had strained relations, Mr Hooper said the government agencies in India did not act in time and delayed handing over of the venues. “We’re at the hands and the mercy of, effectively, the Government of India, the Delhi government, the agencies responsible for delivery of the venues. They consistently failed to meet deadlines.”
This outburst did not go down well with the OC or the government, which called the attack completely unacceptable. Mr Hooper backtracked later on Sunday, acknowledging that the CGF was also partially responsible for the mess.
Adding to the misery of the organisers, the Malaysian and Botswanian teams complained about the poor state of the residential blocks. Botswana’s chef de mission Tuelo Daniel Seruftho told PTI: “There are lot of construction materials lying in our rooms. Besides filthy bedsheets, bathroom fittings do not work. They are not clean. It is unlivable for our athletes.” Around 31 Botswanian athletes are due to arrive in two batches on Monday and Tuesday.
Games village mayor Dalbir Singh said, however, that everything was in order. “We have received complaints on lack of cleanliness from certain blocks, which are being looked into. Our men are involved in the job, and it will be done soon.”
The security lockdown of Games venues could not be finished yet again as last-minute work continued at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies are scheduled. The authorities have missed at least five deadlines for handing over the stadium to the Delhi Police.
Meanwhile, after the boxers were made to wait for their official for nearly four hours on Saturday, the shooters also had a similar experience before checking in at the village late Saturday night. The Indian marksmen, who arrived here from Pune late Saturday night, had to wait for over five hours to get their accommodation at the village.
Indian and international athletes, flying into New Delhi, are required to report immediately to the central point on arrival for security reasons. But the catch here is that the only central point is located at the international airport terminal while the Indian shooters naturally landed at the domestic terminal. “The shooters were transported to the international airport for security purposes. They had to go to the central point, and if you look at it from a security point of view, there was nothing wrong with that,” said Rajeev Bhatia, general secretary of the National Rifle Association of India.