The Commonwealth Games 2010 Will Almost Certainly Now Be Cancelled
With Another Structural Failure It's Unlikely the Commonwealth Games Will Go Ahead
Today a false ceiling collapsed in the Weightlifting Arena at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, which is the main location for the Commonwealth Games.
Had an event been taking place there at the time, the competitors could have been seriously injured, since the ceiling fell directly over the competition area.
Just yesterday a pedestrian bridge that was to take spectators into the stadium collapsed, leaving 27 workers injured.
This prompts questions regarding the safety of structures that have been built especially for the games, and which have fallen well behind schedule.
Even without the structural failures of the last two days, it is unsure whether all the construction could be completed on time.
Then we come to the question of the housing for the many athletes that are due to participate in the Commonwealth Games. A report was released yesterday stating that these were filthy and incomplete, and not fit for human habitation.
Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Michael Cavanagh told the BBC that Scotland remained "hugely committed" to the Games, but he believed urgent action was required. He added "Part of the village is in a very poor condition and a very poor state of maintenance. There have been dogs roaming around the village, the apartments are filthy and there are piles of rubble lying around."
In addition to these critical building problems, the fact remains that with the games being located in India, there is a high risk of terrorist attacks taking place. Indeed there have already been indications that attacks have been planned, which is of concern to both athletes and their countries.
Three top British athletes pulled out of the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday, and officials are monitoring the status of the venues before deciding whether to cancel or not.
The team of 41 Scottish athletes was due to leave on Thursday, but their departure has now been put on hold, pending a review of the facilities in New Delhi.
The Northern Ireland team are still scheduled to leave for Indian next Monday, with two officials from the team in New Delhi already to provide updates on the situation there.
The English team are also holding their departure, awaiting a final decision.
The Welsh team so far are still set to depart for India on Saturday, despite claims that dogs were discovered on beds designated for their team.
A number of top athletes have pulled out of the Commonwealth Games so far, including English athletes Phillips Idowu, Christine Ohuruogu and Lisa Dobriskey, Jamaica's Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, Kenya's sprinter David Rudisha and Australian world discus champion Dani Samuels.
Officials from both Australia and New Zealand said that they would support any of their athletes who decided not to attend the games.
It is such a shame that an event like this which takes place only ever four years, and for which athletes spend months to prepare for, should be cursed by bad planning and the threat of disruptions.
Sources:
Published by Tony Payne
Tony Payne is a freelance writer who lives on the South Coast of England with his wife Debbie. He has worked in the IT Industry all his life, and has been writing on various sites for the last 10 years. T... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentYes Tony, successful games r going to be good for India and for all those athletes who put in years of hard-work. Its just that we wait till the fat lady sings before giving the final judgment.
It is good to see the games are going ahead. I hope they are successful, especially after all the bad media reports. It will definitely look good for India if they are.
Sorry, U r in for some disappointment. CWG Games are on and r going to be the best ever. U seem to have got influenced by reoprting of irresponsible media whch only highlights negativity.
This is scary. Somebody's not doing their job right.
Did you have pictures with this? Not there now.
Scary when new buildings collapse like that... a tragedy on many levels.
That's too bad. I saw that structural collapse, though. It was frightening.
I agree, Tony, it is a shame! I feel for the athletes (and the fans!) cheers