Hindustan Times
Games get dirtier
Raghav Sikka
Until a week ago, I was still under the assumption that we were on the right path when looking at the construction status of some of our stadiums and complexes for the Commonwealth Games.
I believed that Delhi would eventually be able to host the Games in a somewhat attractive fashion. But sorry to say, opinions have changed and I am now worried to enter the Games village. There are maintenance imperfections, security flaws and hygiene issues that need to be addressed before the Games begin.
The pictures on this link give you a shocking glimpse of the filth that has been created by our authorities during the last minute preparations of the Delhi Games. The CWG village is clearly not in place; in fact the conditions are so unhygienic that there were even stray dogs relaxing on beds as the apartments were left unlocked until now.
When asked about hygienic standards in these apartments, our organizers have the audacity to claim that western hygienic standards are way higher than Indian ones and the rooms were not as unclean. I admire the guts of these officials who can make such statements on behalf of us citizens and get away with no repercussions. Moreover the OC (Organising Committee) staff has been urinating openly in public and planter boxes are filled with garbage as of yet. The walkways are surrounded by cement, electrical wires are lying exposed, drainage and footpath work is still not complete and toilets in particular are in a real mess. With chunks from our main stadium’s ceiling falling off to a successfully carried out sting operation with explosive materials shown on camera, India is in a shameful state due to the organizers of this grand event.
The political heads of this country have taken us for a ride by promising so much and delivering so little that the Commonwealth Games have simply become a matter of national shame. At a time when participants are arriving from their respective countries, we now have to build bridges and fix ceilings as substandard materials were used to assemble them in the first place. How could CWG preparation get any worse? The whole chalta hai attitude and making quick jugaads is finally backfiring on Mr. Suresh Kalmadi and men.
The bottom line is that things were left until the end and like with every other government matter in India, there are just too many authorities involved who have no accountability whatsoever. Perhaps Delhi was always unfit for the Games and Tamil Nadu or Gujarat could have been better options to host this sporting extravaganza. One thing is rest assured; let us all forget the Olympics being hosted in this country for at least 100 years.
(24 votes, average: 4.13 out of 5)
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