Opening Ceremonies for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, are less than two weeks away, so I thought we’d check in to see how preparations are going courtesy REUTERS, the ASSOCIATED PRESS and the LONDON GUARDIAN.
- A portion of false ceiling in the weightlifting venue caved in today.
- Yesterday, 27 workers were injured when a footbridge collapsed near the same sports complex.
- A dengue epidemic, blamed on stagnant water around unfinished Games construction sites, has plagued New Delhi and hundreds of people have been hospitalized.
- Less than a week after two tourists were shot and wounded by unapprehended assailants in Delhi, an Australian TV reporter purchased bomb-making devices in the city which were then promptly smuggled through Games security points.
- In the official athletes village, “monsoon rains had flooded some of the rooms, while air conditioning and electrical sockets weren’t working in others.”
- The head of the Scottish delegation of athletes said the Commonwealth Games Village is “unsafe and unfit for human habitation. … 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.“
- The ASSOCIATED PRESS reported that excrement was found in some rooms of the Games Village.
- So that explains Reuters reporting, “four or five accommodation towers at the Games village are still unfinished, lacking facilities such as fitted toilets and plumbing.”
- Of the conditions, Lalit Bhanot, spokesman of the Delhi organizing committee, said, “Please try to understand … They want certain standards of hygiene, they want certain standards of cleanliness, which may differ from my standard.“
- Usain Bolt, World discus champion Dani Samuels of Australia and England’s world triple jump champion Phillips Idowu - along with four other word champions - have pulled out due to the reports of the chaos in India.
- Idowu Tweeted of his decision: “Sorry people, but I have children to think about. My safety is more important to them than a medal.“
India had hoped that its successful staging of the Commonwealth Games would increase its chances of hosting the Olympic Games in the future.
Apparently the locals are unaware that their fate with the IOC rests not on the presence of excrement in the rooms of Olympians, but on the number of Indian rupees that can be stuffed in an envelope.
4:40 pm on September 22nd, 2010
Move that shite across the street to Australia, they have world class olympic sites from the games.
5:47 pm on September 22nd, 2010
modern westernized international event in a third world country. What did you expect?
This quote is priceless. Lalit Bhanot, spokesman of the Delhi organizing committee, said, “Please try to understand … They want certain standards of hygiene, they want certain standards of cleanliness, which may differ from my standard.“
In other words, he is a filthy pig, who is probably infested with all sorts of parasites and thinks everyone else is too. Remember, he is an employed spokesman!! I’d bet big bucks that he doesn’t shower daily. YIKES! you want class distinction,, you got class distinction.
6:10 pm on September 22nd, 2010
Things like this are ok in the undeveloped world. They have more importanat things to think about. Like eating and surviving. Now, get a group together, round up those stray dogs and watch PETA jump all over this. The poor, dirty little kids over there still starve to death, and the athletes might get mugged, beaten, stabbed and/or shot, but those dogs will be flown out in first class on a Boeing 777. Thats how the West takes care of poverty.
12:28 am on September 23rd, 2010
There are two points that need to be talked about that caused this incident: 1) The incompetent and Corrupt government and 2) The lack of qualified Civil Engineers in India.
This event should have been headed by Ratan Tata rather than the government. This why people in India hate the government. Corrupt to the core and I promise you nothing and I mean nothing will be done due to this incident. We have all seen the stories about the corrupt government officials in Bell,California but I can state they would pale in comparison to the government officials in India.
On the civil engineering side,there was an excellent article in the NY times about a month ago on how much more civil engineering graduate make in India in the IT industry rather than in their chosen field of civil engineering. For one graduating engineer in the article, his pay as an IT coder was four times what he would have made as a civil engineer.
The fact that people have died due to the construction in the commonwealth games (Source rediff.com) has changed nor will it change the culture of the government in India
5:56 am on September 23rd, 2010
The Common Wealth Games have been a pain in the butt for Delhites
I wish the whole of Delhi had boycotted these idiotic games with the sort of trouble it has caused the common man. Shiela Dixit has truy gone berserk and sees nothing before and beyond the games. She has looted every Delhite with the unaccountable taxes forced upon them, price hikes and what not. I am not even counting the bad state of roads full of pot holes and fith that has resulted due to the rushed construction work for the CWG. She has betrayed every person who voted her to power for a third consecutive term and this is a case study for the misuse of power by a political leader. I truly and genuinely wish from the bottom of my heart that the CWG are a Big FLOP and fall flat on their face. That is the only way that these shameless politicians can be shamed on world stage as falling bridges and unlivable conditions wont make them budge - no matter how much you complain - they will keep asserting that ALL IS WELL. Idiots! True Idiots! And I have always maintained - When Idiots get to rule, they make sure they make the most of it.
9:11 am on September 23rd, 2010
Why haven’t Starbucks, McDonalds, and Chase Bank got in there yet and cleaned up the place?
Americanize it, clean it up, and turn a profit.
What’s taking so long?
J/K.
1:27 pm on September 23rd, 2010
I think its quite unfortunate that Delhi is unprepared to host the Commonwealth games. This just adds insult to injury because an athletic meet such as this is no where near world class if the Jamaicans are not there. The top Jamaican athletes wont be there and therefore this meet will be boring and mediocre.
2:28 pm on September 23rd, 2010
Starbucks, McDonalds, and Chase Bank aren’t stupid enough to back a gigantic mess like this.
1:54 am on September 24th, 2010
Don’t bridges fall in west ?? Why so much of fuss, are we not creating world class roads like speed ways in Poona and Baroda. Agreed there is corruption and such events should be handled by private firms but don’t we have Sam Pitoda why has brought revolution in telecom field?? We are proud to be Indian and shall be on top of world one day like we used to be in ancient times, the whole world will see.
3:28 am on September 29th, 2010
I don’t care about the story. What I’m worried about is that when I read the link to the story, I actually saw the name of the mayor and it is Shiela Dikshit.