fallstuff
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2009
- Messages
- 9,441
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
- Location
Commonwealth Games Head Sees Improved Conditions
With national teams on their way to New Delhi, the Commonwealth Games chief said Saturday that India's last-minute push to clean and finish facilities was paying dividends, but much more work remained before the beleaguered sporting event opens in less than a week.
As criticism of the ****** athletes' village and other infrastructure problems escalated over the past week and some teams threatened to pull out Indian officials sent hundreds of extra workers to get the facilities in shape before the games.
Commonwealth Games Federation President Mike Fennell, who rushed to India to deal with the problems, told reporters that significant work had been done in recent days.
"There's still a lot of work to be done, to do the final touches, and there's more work in the village. It's not over yet," he said.
He said the problems centered on the cleanup of the athletes' village, especially water in the basements that was proving very difficult to remove.
Workers were also trying to sort out transportation and technology difficulties, as well as issues concerning security and fire safety, he said.
The urgency was evident at the athletes' village, where workers went about cleaning the area and painters gave last-minute touches.
Organizers took groups of New Delhi-based ambassadors from more than 50 participating countries and journalists to the village.
Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese didn't appear to be too impressed with its condition.
"Obviously, you have to keep at it to make the village good enough to receive athletes," he said.
Regardless of the ongoing concerns, the first foreign competitors the English hockey and lawn bowling teams arrived Friday. Although they will stay in hotels before moving to the village, their arrival eased concerns about a mass pullout that could threaten the event, scheduled to start Oct. 3. New Zealand and Australia, both harsh critics of India's preparations, also said their athletes would attend.
Link:
Commonwealth Games Head Sees Improved Conditions - ABC News
With national teams on their way to New Delhi, the Commonwealth Games chief said Saturday that India's last-minute push to clean and finish facilities was paying dividends, but much more work remained before the beleaguered sporting event opens in less than a week.
As criticism of the ****** athletes' village and other infrastructure problems escalated over the past week and some teams threatened to pull out Indian officials sent hundreds of extra workers to get the facilities in shape before the games.
Commonwealth Games Federation President Mike Fennell, who rushed to India to deal with the problems, told reporters that significant work had been done in recent days.
"There's still a lot of work to be done, to do the final touches, and there's more work in the village. It's not over yet," he said.
He said the problems centered on the cleanup of the athletes' village, especially water in the basements that was proving very difficult to remove.
Workers were also trying to sort out transportation and technology difficulties, as well as issues concerning security and fire safety, he said.
The urgency was evident at the athletes' village, where workers went about cleaning the area and painters gave last-minute touches.
Organizers took groups of New Delhi-based ambassadors from more than 50 participating countries and journalists to the village.
Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese didn't appear to be too impressed with its condition.
"Obviously, you have to keep at it to make the village good enough to receive athletes," he said.
Regardless of the ongoing concerns, the first foreign competitors the English hockey and lawn bowling teams arrived Friday. Although they will stay in hotels before moving to the village, their arrival eased concerns about a mass pullout that could threaten the event, scheduled to start Oct. 3. New Zealand and Australia, both harsh critics of India's preparations, also said their athletes would attend.
Link:
Commonwealth Games Head Sees Improved Conditions - ABC News
