MY OPINION ON COMMONWEALTH GAMES(CWG)

I have almost tried to go optimistic regarding cwg,but sad i couldn't.I desperately searched for the positives but the negatives clearly outnumbered and kicked the positives far off.

An event where 72 countries attend and over 5000 atheletes participate is made shabby, spoiled by the irresponsible leaders and organisers, and awaited till the start of games for any little it still can offer for the country to hold its head.

You may comment that because i have not seen it with my own eyes,i cant judge it,yet i can speak volumes because the news is all over the place and i have evidence of whatever i deduct.

We will have a jaunt from 2003 till today and know what really happened in newdelhi.lets take off!!

It was the november of 2003 - The two principal bids for the 2010 Commonwealth Games were from India and Canada .Delhi bid won by a margin of 46 votes to 22, confirming India’s first successful bid for the Games and marking a defeat of the Canadian bid which would have been the fifth time the country acted as a host.India thus became the third developing nation to host the games after malaysia and jamaica.

Why they chose India over canada which has hosted the cwg 4 times already?

An important factor that tilted the balance in favor of Delhi was that India announced that if it won the hosting rights then it would provide one hundred thousand US dollars to each participating country(that means 7200000 $) along with free air tickets, free boarding lodging and free transport. This announcement was one of the crucial factors which helped India win the bid for the mega event.

India was the front-runner because it never previously staged the prestigious event and voters clearly were sympathetic to complaints from New Delhi officials that wealthy countries are picked too often for hosting the games.

We bidded with an expenditure budget of US$422 million and promised that games will be conducted in accordance with the requirements of the federation and will underwrite any operating or capital budget shortfall.

Delhi has provided a travel grant of US$10.5 million based on US$1500 each to the atheletes and officials, which exceeds the cwg requirement.

The organising committee will be a non profit government owned registered society with employment opportunities to 1990 people and 18000 volunteers.Delhi focused on the potential to use youth to become involved in sports.

2003 afro-asian games proved that india has the infrastructure and plan to host a big event.

The venues will be made to meet the federation requirements technically.Two new sport venues have to be constructed along with the 40 hectare village to meet international standards of the federation.

Regards transport a significant improvement is promised.We proposed to build 74 flyovers and develop metros to achieve the projected travel times.

More can be read from the evaluation report.

http://www.thecgf.com/media/games/2010/2010_eval_report.pdf

Whats expected?? What is being delivered?? What can we deliver?

As a general rule usually venues are constructed and kept for trial runs much before the tournaments actually start.All CWG projects were to be completed by May 2009 and should have been kept for trial runs. however the first stadium was handed over for trial runs in July 2010,only 3 months prior to the mega event.

when i last checked about the venues all wikipedia articles are still stubs, 6 days prior to the start of the games.

A glimpse of the corruption :

Reports show that scandals have come to light, such as "shadowy off-shore firms, forged emails, inexplicable payments to bogus companies and inflated bills — for every purchase from toilet paper to treadmills." Among the alleged corruption and defrauding of the games budget, toilet paper rolls valued at $2 were costed at $80, $2 soap dispensers at $60, $98 mirrors at $220, $11,830 altitude training simulators at $250,190,and many more..

There are also allegations of widespread corruption in various aspects of organising the games including procurement and awarding contracts for constructing the game venues.

Here is what some small nations commented on the accommodation -

"We are very, very unhappy and disappointed. In the future, members will be very reluctant to vote for cities from developing countries again which is a real shame."

Among the evidence apparently submitted by the Scottish delegation is a photograph of a dog defecating on a bed in the games village."

BBC has commented that the games village is unfit for atheletes - The Commonwealth Games Federation head has demanded the Indian government take immediate steps to improve conditions at the athletes' village in Delhi.Team delegates have described the accommodation as filthy, unhygienic and unfit for human habitation.

Only 20 out of 36 buildings are completed with just 4 days to spare!!

There has been an outbreak of dengue in the capital.everyday 60-70 new cases are being diagnosed. With the worst monsoon in the last fifteen years hitting the capital and stagnant waters everywhere guess where the disease goes!!

The government arbitrarily arrested 100000 beggars and homeless citizens and almost 1 lakh families were moved to make way for the village.

Footbridge under construction for the games collapsed, injuring at least 23 people, mainly workers. Commenting on the incident, Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit controversially remarked that the footbridge was only meant for spectators and not for athletes. I ask her " Are workers not human beings? arent their lives valued?"

Lastly security, Indians are slowly habituated to terrorist attacks. But do other country players do? opening fire on tourists clearly sends alarms ringing in the minds of the atheletes.Afterall who wanna risk their life?

As told by the discus champion - my safety is more important to them than a medal

Chetan bhagat called the Commonwealth games the "biggest and most blatant exercise in mass corruption since the country won independence six decades ago." Bhagat, who has sold more than 4 million books in India, also urged his readers to boycott the games event and not to watch them on TV, thereby using the "golden chance" to "put the corrupt and insensitive government to shame."

Now ponder - where are we?

With a motto celebrating "Humanity, Equality, Destiny," the event is aimed at strengthening the union through sports. Hope whatever has happened till now doesnt reflect on the coming event.

I wish the event meets the requirements and satisfies everyone.

Jai hind.