COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Commonwealth Games organizing committee chairperson Suresh Kalmadi on Saturday steered clear from taking responsibility for the mess unraveled by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) in its findings on infrastructure and construction projects. ‘‘The OC will not take over any stadium on August 1 if it is not complete,’’ he said.
The CVC report has raised a storm by pointing towards financial irregularities, poor quality of work and fake certificates. ‘‘CVC has raised 13 points. OC has nothing to do with them,’’ Kalmadi emphasised, washing his hands off the entire matter.

When asked who was responsible for the mess which the CVC report reveals, Kalmadi replied, ‘‘Venues are the responsibility of the venue owners (government agencies). We have no role in the construction of stadia. The agencies have assured us that they will give us the venues on time.’’

‘‘I reiterate that the infrastructure and construction projects pertain to government agencies and venue owners and it would be unfair to hold OC responsible for either the delays or the discrepancies,’’ he said.

On whether the pace of work at the stadia was worrying him, Kalmadi said the venue owners have assured that all work will be completed in time. But he reluctantly admitted that he was ‘‘concerned as once we take over the venues, it is my responsibility that all is well. I will not take over any venue that is not complete. The takover of venues begins on August 1.’’

On whether OC will have enough time to do the overlays after taking over the venues, Kalmadi said, ‘‘We are aware of the time constraints and hence our overlay team is already out at the venues and at some places work has started.’’ About the poor workmanship that has started to show a grill recently came off at SP Mukherjee Swimming Complex injuring a swimmer Kalmadi said he had checked on the swimmer and that it was just a ‘‘little injury’’.

Kalmadi’s press conference comes a day after CM Sheila Dikshit held a press meet on the CVC findings. The CM, too, had listed out deadlines for completion of work — from removing the rubble to finishing touches. On the CVC report, Dikshit had refused to comment saying she knew nothing of it and that a process had to be followed regarding everything.

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From the outside, Karni Singh Shooting Range one of the venues of Commonwealth Games looks like a fortress complete with very high stone walls, recently extended with more stones, and glistening barbed wire. Inside, it’s a chaotic construction site with mounds of earth and paving stones dotting the area. The armed CISF men though give away the fact that this is not just anyconstruction site but the venue for a world class event that is due to start in less than 70 days.

Given the present state of complete unprepared ness with even the entry points being kuccha tracks, it is difficult to imagine that this venue had in February hosted a test event. Just after one enters from Gate No. 2, having braved a long grilling session by the CISF who make it clear that the area is out of bounds, specifically for the media there is a pile of bricks and a splotch of blue paint, signs that the venue is still many days away from completion.

No wonder that Sports Authority of India, whose property the range is, chose to cordon off or block from sight most of the ground leading to the shooting ranges during the test event.

Both sides of the concrete paths leading to the four main ranges are completely dug up with parts of cables and pipes sticking out here and there. Intermittently, there are massive holes in the ground, waiting for the trees that will be planted for landscaping and beautification purposes.

When you enter from Gate No. 3, the scene inside is even worse with guards sitting on heaps of earth chewing tobacco.

Obviously, security is not an issue when workers get hired here. A labourer working at the site claimed he had been approached by the local thekedar and had been working at Karni Singh for the past month. ‘‘They picked me from the main road a month ago, and I have been working here ever since,’’ he said. According to him, there was a lot left to be done at the venue. It will take at least one month to clear the area of all the rubble and plant the trees.

The only part of the scene which looks complete and therefore strikes a discordant note with the rest of the landscape is the array of green boards with Shera on them. Earth movers move in and out of the complex while paving stones are stacked here and there, waiting for the premises to reach a stage where they could be used.

Work is also going on at a furious pace along the approach road to the range. Bulldozers can be seen planting trees along the Suraj Kund road, a forest area. Ironically, local MCD workers say there isn’t much space left to plant more trees.

Says a worker, Nau Bahar, ‘‘I have orders to plant 250 trees on this road but as you can see there is no space for that kind of growth.’’ So, old trees will have to make way for new ones.

Outside the range, the long and winding road to Faridabad is a unique sight. Both sides have been paved to resemble a footpath but there is no variation of level. Why the paving then? The paving tiles are breaking down under the weight of the bulldozer which is assigned to dig up the ground to plant more unnecessary trees.

Some distance off, the parking which will house some 1,000-odd cars is still a green field. The supervisor sitting in the shade of a tree says work started a fortnight back and will be ready by August 15. One cannot help wonder how.

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The Government of India sees the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi as an excellent opportunity to herald the country’s emergence as a significant sporting nation and showcase its organisational capacity to host such major events.
In its report to the nation presented by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Tuesday, Government said apart from highlighting the important role of sports, promoting closer ties between the people of the Commonwealth countries and promoting tourism, this Commonwealth Games will provide the nation with state-of-art, international standard sports infrastructure.
The report said Government had approved a budget of nearly Rs. 11,494 crore for the successful conduct of the Games through various ministries. (Of this, the budget for the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi to conduct the Games is Rs 1620 crore). The Commonwealth Games will also result in the upgradation of city infrastructure on an unprecedented scale, it said.
The new terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport will be fully operational soon, well in time for the Commonwealth Games. It has been designed to cater to 100 million passengers per annum by 2036, the report said.
It also said that 45.83 km was added to the Delhi Metro network. Of course, it will expand to 185 km during the Games, spanning the IGI Airport to Connaught Place, to the Games Village in Akhshardham to all venues.

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