Several big-name athletes have pulled out of the Commonwealth Games and Scotland delayed its departure to New Delhi yesterday, adding to woes of an event meant to showcase India’s ability to stand up with China on the world stage.
Some countries have effectively given New Delhi a few days to clean up the Games village or face the prospect of national withdrawals from an event that is so far only showcasing Indian traveler-tale cliches of filth, chaos and corruption.
A portion of false ceiling in the weightlifting venue caved in yesterday, a day after the collapse of a footbridge by the main stadium, injuring 27 workers, highlighting problems facing organizers as they race to complete work.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Nobody was injured at the weightlifting venue.
“National Shame” was the headline of one Indian newspaper.
“There have been dogs roaming around the village, the apartments are filthy, there are piles of rubble and right now it’s not fit to receive 6,500 athletes and officials,” Michael Cavanagh, chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, told BBC Radio.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell said on Tuesday the two-week event, starting on Oct. 3, was seriously compromised by filthy conditions that have shocked delegations.
There have been reports of stray dogs, stagnant water, workers urinating in public, and human feces being found at the unfinished village where the athletes will live. Stagnant pools of water, breeding grounds for dengue mosquitoes, lie around.
Officials say the problems, including the roof collapse, are mostly minor glitches and the Games will be a success.
Some four or five accommodation towers at the Games village are still unfinished, lacking facilities such as wireless Internet, fitted toilets and plumbing. Rubble, unused masonry and discarded bricks litter the unfinished gardens.
World discus champion Dani Samuels of Australia pulled out of the Games because of security and health concerns, as did England’s world triple jump champion Phillips Idowu. Four other champions have quit due to various reasons, including injuries, in the last 24 hours.
Kenya’s Olympic 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop and women’s world 10,000m champion Linet Masai have pulled out.
Men’s 800m world-record holder David Rudisha and African men’s 5,000m champion Edwin Soi also pulled out of the Games suffering from exhaustion.
“Sorry people, but I have children to think about. My safety is more important to them than a medal,” Idowu wrote on his Twitter feed.
Triple Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica is the highest profile athlete to skip the event.
DENGUE EPIDEMIC
An epidemic of Dengue, in part blamed on stagnant water around unfinished construction sites, has hit New Delhi and killed four people this year, while hundreds of people have been hospitalized. Four people have died as a result of dengue fever this year. Many residents are fleeing New Delhi during the Games, worried about security and traffic chaos.
Only days after two Taiwanese visitors were shot and wounded by unknown assailants in New Delhi, Australian TV broadcasted how a reporter bought bomb making devices to smuggle through security points. Indian police denied he ever crossed a checkpoint.
Highlighting how the Games has quickly become a political minefield for a government already reeling under high inflation, officials from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office toured the village.
“It’s no state secret, we’re concerned,” said an official at the prime minister’s office, who declined to be named.
So far Singh, who took charge of monitoring the preparations a month ago after criticism of missed deadlines, has remained silent on the mounting criticism of the state of the Games, underscoring what critics say is his out-of-touch leadership.
India’s chief anti-corruption body found a host of problems with construction work in a July investigation, including dubious contracts and the use of poor quality materials.
Sporting power Australia backed the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday and many venues, including the main Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, have been praised as world-class.
Officials note that other events such as the 2004 Athens Olympics were dogged by problems, but turned out fine.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Games team said it might delay the arrival of some of its athletes if adequate accommodation was not available.
“Please try to understand ... They want certain standards of hygiene, they want certain standards of cleanliness, which may differ from my standard,” said Lalit Bhanot, spokesman of the Delhi organizing committee.
Dismal preparations have raised questions how a graft-ridden, inefficient state can hope to compete with China.
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