party of cleaners or party of human spreading bactercia
IT IS the to-do list from hell. From installing the scoreboards, to clearing rubble and testing whether the security cameras actually work - the Delhi Organising Committee has an alarming amount of work to do with just over a week to go before the Commonwealth Games.
The Courier-Mail visited several venues yesterday and nothing was completed.
The large amount of unfinished work is causing a major security headache in an environment where a terrorist attack has been rated as an 80 per cent probability.
The basic logistics for conducting the Games are still not in place and it is very likely the first time most equipment is used will be on, or after, October 3. One of the more astounding unfinished jobs is installation of the giant scoreboards.
A senior Organising Committee member has revealed that they are yet to install the scoring systems, partly because they are not waterproof.
"We have got it all in our possession, but have not got it installed because of the ongoing rain. It will get damaged or will develop snags," he said.
"The system is not in place at all of the major venues – Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the new weightlifting arena, Yamuna velodrome, Indira Gandhi, Talkatora indoor stadiums and the Yamuna Sports Complex."
On Thursday, the Organising Committee set a 24-hour deadline – the original deadline was August 1 – to complete all the work at the stadium venues. It is highly unlikely to be met.
The long delay in locking down the venues was mainly due to on-going construction. It has meant vital security equipment such as closed-circuit television, boom barriers and tyre killers remain untested.
The main Nehru Stadium is one of the few completed venues, however even it needs repairs to a nearby major staircase before it can be used. Debris from a collapsed footbridge, however, has now been removed.
Work is still going at the weightlifting stadium where part of the roof collapsed.
Shivaji Stadium, which has been delisted from the official Games venues, is also a hive of activity. Workers are toiling to finish seats and lay gravel.
The field at the Delhi University rugby ground, where the rugby sevens will take place, looks fine but its scoreboard is not completed. There is a frenzy of construction going on around it. The pedestrian walkways linking many venues are pocked with large holes and littered with debris. One of the biggest criticisms levied at the Games organisers is the state of the athletes' village.
Despite promises that its quality would surpass the Beijing athletes' village, it is a mess with large cracks in many of the towers. Engineers have been called in to investigate and New Zealand officials have sent photographs to their high commission, with safety concerns.
One government-assigned team is working on each tower amid other concerns about them being surrounded by pools of fetid water and general insanitary conditions.
There is rubble and debris everywhere on the Delhi streets and around venues, although not as much as a month ago.
The worst flood since 1978 are behind many problems. Homes nearby are flooded and the rain has caused chaos.
One of the most important goals still not finished, as far as Games officials are concerned, is resurrecting national pride.
The "Shame Games" have upset and embarrassed many Indians, with a recent newspaper poll saying 97 per cent believe it has tarred the country's image.
