Mike Hooper, CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said Thursday Delhi 2010 authorities have made progress in fixing problems in the athlete’s village and the event is expected to go ahead.
The Times Of India reports Hooper said in a telephone interview, “there has been progress and there is more to do”, adding there had been a “significant additional resource deployment”.
He said, “we’re concentrating on fixing the problems. My attitude is that the Games are on. We are working at the highest levels of government”.
According to the Times another Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) source said the mood was much better among country delegations following a morning meeting between officials and the Delhi government. “The teams have been buoyed by the action they’ve seen. There has certainly been action over the last few days”, said the source.
There have been several problems in the past few weeks plaguing the Games, which take place October 3-14, as reported by the Toronto Star. A footbridge under construction near the Games main stadium collapsed Tuesday, injuring at least 23 construction workers, two tourists were shot Tuesday outside a centuries-old mosque and a car bomb exploded nearby, and a record rainfall this summer contributed to a dengue fever outbreak, with more than 7,000 people across India contracting the sometimes fatal mosquito-borne illness.
Also two Indian swimmers failed dope tests with the results publicized days after six Indian wrestlers and two competitors from the hammer throw also tested positive for drugs.
The Star reports corruption has been a central theme in the lead-up to the Games. Organizers have been paying up to $85 each for toilet paper dispensers, $130 for wastebaskets and $19,500 for the rental of treadmills. The $133 million administrative budget may balloon to more than $500 million, not counting the $6 billion spent on building and upgrading stadiums.
Many teams have delayed sending their athletes to Delhi because of problems in the unfinished athletes’ village, which the CGF described Tuesday as “seriously compromised” and “filthy”.
Photographs on a BBC website showed a filthy leaking toilet, a stained and dirty shower, and a bed with muddy dog paw prints over it.
Other photographs reportedly showed bathroom sinks full of dust and stained with an unidentifiable reddy-brown liquid, cracked pavements, shattered glass on a balcony, water-logging, stray wiring and rubble.
