In an event that was supposed to showcase Delhi to the world, the anticipated Commonwealth Games of 2010 instead, because of lack of preparation, is turning out to be a huge national embarrassment for India. Perhaps the subcontinental host of these games should take heed of the example set by its northern neighbor, the People's Republic of China. The PRC reportedly spent over 40 Billion $USD in Olympic venue preparation and garnered a tremendous show of political face as a result. As it is, the statements made by one of the Dehli organizers, Lalit Bhanot, caught my attention by its double edged nature (which I'm sure Mr. Bhanot had not intended). He suggested that complaints of unhygienic conditions witnessed by advanced foreign teams (sent to inspect the facilities) were due to "cultural differences" and that "...everyone has different standards about cleanliness. The Westerners have different standards, we have different standards." This of course could easily be interpreted as India being not quite up to accepted world standards of cleanliness. Further, there is rampant corruption accusations over the spending on the games, which reportedly ballooned up by an unheard of 114 times from original estimates, with officials now admitting that they frankly have no idea what the entire venue will eventually cost. Additionally, sections of earthen works around the newly built games site have reportedly been sunken because of recent heavy rains. That and the sudden collapse of a foot bridge still under construction (injuring 23 workers) raises questions of reliable oversight at the venue. Stagnant waters pooled around the games village has also reportedly brought health concern for threat of becoming a breeding ground for mosquito borne disease. As it is, some foreign teams have insisted that their athletes be given hotel accommodations if the games village is not up to international health and safety standards. One athlete from Australia (Dani Samuels, world champion woman's discus) has already withdrawn from the games, citing venue concerns. Michael Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation said foreign advance teams were stunned to find the shockingly abysmal conditions of the games village with the October 3rd starting date so close at hand. Village buildings planned to house the arriving athletes were only partially constructed, with missing plumbing and exposed wiring. Additionally, India has also come under fire for using strong arm tactics to hide its huge poverty problem from arriving visitors. The beggar and squatter legions commonly seen as a daily eyesore on Delhi streets have been recently set upon by authorities. Official estimates of 5 Lakh (500,000) beggar population is acknowledged by working NGO's as actually being closer to 20 Lakh (2,000,000). How India plans to remove up to 2 million of these people from public view has become a matter of extreme concern for social advocates. As one Dehli BBC journalist put it, this whole thing may wind up being one huge Indian version of Bonfire of the Vanities. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11386926 http://www.hindu.com/2010/09/01/stories/2010090162560400.htm http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/specialcoverage/6256878.cms
Latest update; recent photographs found by the BBC details the continuing problem, with some saying that the games never should have been awarded to Dehli in the first place: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/commonwealth_games/delhi_2010/9025907.stm http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11403204 The clock is certainly ticking on this. Whether they can pull this off or not will be evident by next week, as the October third opening date is nearly upon them. IMHO, it doesn't look hopeful. <_<
Giving the bid to India was a mistake in the sense that they are not yet ready for it on this "world" scale for several years (albeit only Commenwealth related countries, it's still big). India could have gained a lot of political and economic benefits from this, but yeah... After the succes of the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai Expo, China is going to host the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. -cool Individuals left, they haven't gone that far to pull out entire teams yet.
It's on Chinese Media quite a bit, and it's looking pretty bad for India, it's a total mess. Tons of photos and video showing how bad it is there. But those in charge that spoke totally down playing how serious some of the problems are and blaming some foreign press for blowing it out of proportion.
One has to remember that despite being smaller and not as inclusive as the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games nonetheless has world recognition and participant nations compete aggressively for the privilege to host the event. Thus, the venue is designed specifically to attract foreign participation. So, after begging for foreign attention, India is now reluctant to withstand foreign criticism? That's a real nonstarter for me. One cannot have their cake and eat it.
The latest in India, having rushed to finish the job to meet the opening day this Sunday: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704029304575525510711066840.html Apparently, the run up bad news to the event had already affected tourism. The expected numbers of visitors is going to be well below what was hoped for. India is nonetheless attempting to put on as bright a face as possible. But, I'm sure that behind the scenes, there's a lot of political revenge going on right now.
The Commonwealth Games should be an iconic event for major athletes around the world to participate...Delhi should have been more prepared to celebrate these games. Its a poor show so far...
And now, ...Delhi Belly? In a strange twist, swimmers in the games have now been getting physically sick after swimming in the waters used for the competition. Some have already withdrawn from further participation. Weird.
