C’wealth Games hiccup clouds ‘shining’ India

[Pk_Thunder]

C’wealth Games hiccup clouds ‘shining’ India​

By Adam Plowright
Friday, 24 Sep, 2010


NEW DELHI: They were meant to showcase the emergence of a country with superpower ambitions. Instead the Delhi Commonwealth Games have shone an unflattering light on old-fashioned ills that still blight India.

With 10 days to go, the accumulation of countless missed deadlines, political drift and shambolic organisation has led to a crisis, with serious questions being raised about whether the October 3-14 showpiece can go ahead.

Inevitably, in a century many think will be defined by the growth of Asia’s biggest countries India and China, the disastrous run-up to the Delhi games is being compared to the slick organisation of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The parallel might seem unfair — China’s economy is three times the size of its rival’s and the Beijing regime has none of India’s democratic constraints — but it is a comparison that Indian organisers have actively encouraged.

“It is going to be the best infrastructure in the world. It is going to have the best games; better than the Beijing Olympics,” the under-fire Indian chief organiser Suresh Kalmadi boasted at the end of last month.

He and other organisers have continued to insist the games — five times over budget at three billion US dollars — will be the best ever Commonwealth event, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

This week, a bridge collapsed at the main stadium; the athletes’ village was described as “uninhabitable”, “filthy” and unfinished; and several crowd-pulling star athletes pulled out.

“I have never seen a country where they talk against their own like this,” Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit complained on Wednesday as she spoke to the hostile local media.

“These are our games. We should put our best foot forward.” The image that the nation was hoping to project was its new, dynamic one, the “shining” India of political sloganeering — one of nine per cent economic growth, high-tech software companies and new diplomatic clout abroad.

Instead, the old image of a stifling and inefficient bureaucracy, poor infrastructure, corruption and squalor has been broadcast around the world.

The blame for the mess, says Bimal Jalan, a former governor of the Indian central bank and parliamentarian, lies firmly with the country’s unreformed public administration that has not modernised like the corporate sector.

“We should have created one body that could take all the decisions for the games,” he told AFP. “This always creates problems in India. There’s nothing that can be done without nine ministries involved.”

An unresponsive bureaucracy, unaccountable ministers and corruption are all blamed for India’s failure over decades to provide infrastructure and public services for its fast-growing billion-plus population.

Even today in the middle-class suburbs of New Delhi, Mumbai or IT hub Bangalore, water, refuse collection, electricity and public medical facilities remain in short supply. Up to 400 million lack any access to electricity.

“What this shows about modern India is that there is really a new type of India in the private sector and then there’s the government of India,” Kamil Zaheer, an Indian manager at a US multinational, told AFP.

“The government, despite its pretensions about being a superpower, is stuck in a morass of corruption with no accountability,” he said.

Jalan points to private-sector success in building infrastructure such as the world’s biggest oil refinery complex in western Gujarat state operated by Reliance, or the newly opened international airport in New Delhi.

“It’s not India’s inability to build infrastructure. It’s the Indian government’s inability,” he said.

For the time being, organisers and political leaders appear out of touch with the depths of anger and shame felt by many.

A quick survey of views on Delhi’s streets suggested the event is increasingly seen as an extravagant waste of public money that has embarrassed the country.

“There should be a Commonwealth jail. All the guys working from top to bottom, including various government agencies, should be paraded naked and all their assets should be frozen,” suggested 28-year-old Divya Gupta.

Only one in 10 people selected at random on one of central Delhi’s main commercial roads had anything positive to say.

“The Commonwealth Games is an example of how poorly we in India handle planning and execution,” said Shivraj Parshad, a 36-year-old media professional.

“What is shocking is that while the games were tagged as a big international showcase, we have spent the last two years fighting and screwing it all up.”

 

[samv]

It's sad because I think it cements peoples' views of South Asia being a backward part of the world.

 

[Spring Onion]

I think for all this period till CWGs ends There should be a sticky thread so that we dont open more threads but i wonder why Indians are so much offended over the truth that they force mods to close CWGs threads lolzz

anyway

 

[Spring Onion]

India bribed 72 nations to get Delhi CWG: Report
PTI, Sep 24, 2010, 12.27am IST

MELBOURNE: India bribed 72 Commonwealth countries $100,000 each to get the hosting rights for the scandal-hit 19th edition of the Games which will start in Delhi from October 3-14, a media report claimed.

A report in the Daily Telegraph claimed that Delhi pipped Hamilton in the bid after offering huge sums of money to the 72 Commonwealth countries during the final presentation in Jamaica.

The report also said that Australia received a kickback of $125,000 from India.

"Delhi sealed the right to host the Games when their delegates emerged at the final presentation in Jamaica and offered all 72 nations $100,000 (then about $140,000) each for athlete training schemes if they were the successful bidders," the newspaper reported.

"The money, subsequently paid to all nations, was not significant to Australia because it had already decided to vote for India and the payment was not an exceptionally large one.

"But for small nations who have minimal interest in the Games, it clinched their vote and India went on to beat Canadian city Hamilton 46-22 in the final poll. Hamilton had offered the nations about $70,000 each," it said.

Read more: India bribed 72 nations to get Delhi CWG: Report - The Times of India India bribed 72 nations to get Delhi CWG: Report - The Times of India

 

[mjnaushad]

^^^ I was about to post it in other thread but the thread got closed....

Anyway.....Lets see what those Pak team bashers say on this one, Supporting Pak team ban.......Now India should be banned from hosting ...

This post is for all who were supporting Pakistan team ban.

 

[IndianArmy]

I think for all this period till CWGs ends There should be a sticky thread so that we dont open more threads but i wonder why Indians are so much offended over the truth that they force mods to close CWGs threads lolzz

anyway

Well Jana, Indians are not at all Offended at all by some Comments Which are being made out of Anger or Jealousy at all, Because This Is Just going to do us Wonders in the Long run, Learning Such lessons are Necessary while On the Path Of Growth as in Future there wouldnt be Any Concerns Raised Over Mis management of Not Only Games But any Event Organized here In India....

Hope Our Politicians Learnt , We are Only Thankful to the International Community for Thrashing these Morons who have not done anything but Put money in there Pockets

 

[Indian1]

I think for all this period till CWGs ends There should be a sticky thread so that we dont open more threads but i wonder why Indians are so much offended over the truth that they force mods to close CWGs threads lolzz

anyway

Why do Pakistanis get offended when people talk about Cricket fixing etc/Bangladesh etc.?

Why do Chinese get offended when people talk of Tienanmen square/human rights etc.?

Why do Americans get offended when people talk of Iraq war etc.?

Why do Indians get offended when people talk of CWG mess etc.?

Seedhi baat hai, nange ko uske munh pe nanga bologe toh offend toh hoga hee!

 

[Spring Onion]

India shouldn't have got CWG: Aussie Olympic boss
AP, Sep 24, 2010, 10.17am IST

SYDNEY: Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said on Friday India should not have been awarded the Commonwealth Games.

Coates told reporters in Sydney on Friday the Commonwealth Games Federation lacked the resources to monitor the progress of games preparations in New Delhi and to ensure construction deadlines were met.

"In hindsight, no, they shouldn't have been awarded the Games," Coates said. "The problem is the Commonwealth Games Federation is under resourced. It doesn't have the ability to monitor the progress of cities in the way the (International) Olympic Committee does."

Preparations for the Oct. 3-14 Commonwealth Games have been plagued by construction delays and failures, and nine days from the official opening doubts remain about the games viability. Several nations have delayed their arrival in New Delhi because of concern over the state of the athletes' village, part of which was described this week as uninhabitable.

Coates said the Commonwealth Games Federation had a staff of only five people to oversee games preparation while the International Olympic Committee, currently monitoring preparations for the 2012 London Olympics, has 400 staff.

He said the IOC has contracts in place with the London organizers and organizers of the 2016 Rio de Janiero games to ensure construction proceeds to established deadlines.

"If that had been the case here (in Delhi), then certainly something would have been done a lot sooner because obviously the venues are not ready," he said.

Coates dismissed suggestions a protracted monsoon season had caused delays.

"You can't ever cut any slack when your focus should be on the best conditions for the athletes," he said.

Coates said the reported state of the athletes village in New Delhi, which will be home to 7,000 athletes and officials from 71 nations during the games, showed why India should not have been awarded the games.

Participating nations have joined this week in condemning the state of the village. Team officials said excrement had been found in some rooms which had not been cleaned, rooms leaked and wiring and plumbing had not been completed.

"I'm certainly not going to be drawn into making a commentary on whether Australia and other countries should pull out from this part of the world," Coates said.


Read more: India shouldn't have got CWG: Aussie Olympic boss - The Times of India India shouldn't have got CWG: Aussie Olympic boss - The Times of India

 

[Imran Khan]

now please simple answer is there games?

 

[Ganguly]

India bribed 72 nations to get Delhi CWG: Report
PTI, Sep 24, 2010, 12.27am IST

MELBOURNE:
A report in the Daily Telegraph claimed that Delhi pipped Hamilton in the bid after offering huge sums of money to the 72 Commonwealth countries during the final presentation in Jamaica.

[/url]

Is Pakistan one of the 72 countries? Any idea..

 

[flaming arrow]

Let the Commonwealth Games begin

Much of the criticism is unfair and unhelpful.

India has just endured a dreadful monsoon season which delayed construction work. That was followed by an outbreak of dengue fever in Delhi, the Indian Capital and the location for the games.

There are, therefore, some good reasons for the poor state of part of the accommodation for athletes from 54 independent Commonwealth countries and dependencies such as Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands. Not enough attention has been paid by the critics to these circumstances.

Much has been made of the collapse of a footbridge under construction near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main Games venue.

Yet, the collapse was due to an engineering issue and it has no impact on the games' main venues.

Criticism

The state of the athletes' Village has also been heavily criticised with complaints of flooding, rooms soiled with excrement and stray dogs found on some beds.

Little account was taken of the recent monsoons and flooding that occurred carrying waste in the Village, and, importantly, that these are problems that could be fixed.

It is worth remembering that India is home to some of the world’s most luxurious hotels, where cleanliness, hygiene and excellent service have received international acclaim.

Some commentators have gone further to suggest that the problems India faces are good reasons why major sporting events should not be held in developing countries.

They seem to have forgotten, conveniently, China’s breathtaking showing as host of the 2008 Olympic Games and South Africa’s marvellous performance as host of the 2010 Football World Cup Tournament.

Preparations

They have also overlooked that India has spent $3 billion preparing for the games.

Among the things it has successfully done are installing new infrastructure at the international airport in Delhi and a new metro.

This is not to say that the organizers of the Games ought not to have been more vigilant and that the government of India, recognizing that the eyes of sports lovers all over the world would be upon them, should not have more zealously overseen the arrangements.

But, the Indians themselves have been alive to delays in construction and poor work in some places.

'India's shame'

The vigorously independent Indian media has regularly dispensed its own share of harsh criticism of the organizers and the government.

Both the Times of India and the Hindustani Times showed that the majority of Indians are deeply embarrassed by reports of poor preparation of athlete’s accommodation.

The newspapers themselves took a hard line. For instance, The Times of India headlined one story: 'Commonwealth Games, India’s shame'.


February 2009 picture of Games village
Concerns about preparation had been raised last year

Obviously, since India took on the obligation of hosting the Commonwealth Games, Indians wanted the best possible portrayal of their country to the world.

The widespread sense of embarrassment is understandable; it should be treated sympathetically and encouragement given to India’s desire to display itself in the best possible light.

Action

The government has responded to the complaints with decisive action.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh summoned the Sports Minister, M S Gill, l and the Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy to a meeting whose consequence was the deployment of even more resources to ensure that all problems with the athlete’s accommodation are corrected on time.

Security concerns have also been raised particularly about the safety of athletes.

Yet, the security arrangements measure up to international standards fully. They include: a three-tier security around all competition venues, helicopter surveillance, over 2,000 Close Circuit Televisions to monitor every movement around important locations and special vehicles to transport guests.

Athletes will be looked after by a team of dedicated security personnel drawn from the Delhi Police Force and the paramilitary forces, and the vehicles transporting them will undergo mandatory anti-sabotage clearance every morning.

Indian security forces are also accustomed to handling large crowds. Some events in India attract up to 60 million people. Few other countries in the world can make a similar claim.

Faint hearts

For these reasons, the athletes who have pulled out of the games have shown extremely faint hearts.

If they fear terrorists, they would have better reason to harbor such fears in London at the 2012 Olympic Games which will undoubtedly be a target for extremists.

On the other hand, if it is hygiene that it is the issue, they also face that problem in any number of restaurants around the world whose kitchens occasionally lapse.

Fears were also expressed about South Africa’s readiness to hold the 2010 World Cup Football Tournament.

Today, few have reason to criticize South Africa.

In the end, India will correct the deficiencies and get it right.

The country has more than enough organizational, technological, and creative talent to ensure the success of the Games. What the government must do now is to pull all that talent together to showcase the country’s capacity.

These Commonwealth Games are significant to India as host, but they are also important to the Commonwealth as an association of 54 states that have valued their close relations for over 60 years, and who believe that, collectively, they have a unique contribution to make to global understanding.

The Commonwealth represents one-third of all mankind and it straddles every continent in the world; its people are of all races and religions; and its countries are large and small, rich and poor.

The Games are a traditional celebration by its athletes of their fierce but friendly competition. It is also good preparation for the Olympics.

BBCCaribbean.com | Let the Commonwealth Games begin

 

[karan.1970]

^ Oh Yes.. The age old South Asian Jugaad technology in full swing.

Actually it may turn out to be an advantage. Every one coming in will be expecting a totaly shi-tty set up. So even putting up an average & functional arrangement will seem extremely good since the expectations will be rock bottom.. thanks to the recent media reports.. Lets see how it turns..

 

[flaming arrow]

now please simple answer is there games?

Ans is YES
SO WAIT AND WATCH IMRAN JI iam sure you will not be dissapointed and your myths will broken..i few dirty toilets in a building or a bridge collapsing because of engg.mistake will not stop the game