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Nearly caught up, there's still some complaints. They should never have got themselves into this situation in the first place with seven whole years of preparation. The turn around job they've been doing seems to have been pretty impressive however - well done to those involved. But leaving the after-build clean and fitting out of the athlete's village till a fortnight before is nothing to be congratulated about in itself.

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Delhi was behind they’ve now court up, get over it

'Court up' hmmm?

Commonwealth Games venue still a world class mess

PARTS of the "world class" Commonwealth Games main stadium remained in dirty disarray and the scoreboard was not working yesterday.

Some of the Nehru stadium's toilets remained in a filthy condition while the facility's scoreboard was skeletal - its sagging and loose wiring showing, unfinished.

Piles of stinking rubbish remained inside the corridors and around the stadium. Half-eaten meals sat on dusty stadium seating and there were water bottles and other rubbish on the ground.

There were nails and other building debris where Games spectators were due to sit.

Rat traps, broken seats, dirty, rank toilets and swarms of mosquitos in the bowels of the stadium were found yesterday. Authorities maintain they had been spraying insecticide but clearly missed a few spots at Nehru Stadium.

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View of a seat back lying on a work station with unfinished wiring in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where the main opening and closing ceremonies will be held, the games begin in just 6 days time.

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View of a filthy toilet in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where the main opening and closing ceremonies will be held, the games begin in just 6 days time

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View of unfinished flooring with building detritus next to already damaged seating by the main arena of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium

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The bomb story was a hoax:

http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3023099.htm

Shame on Channel 7 and Mike Duffy. As if there's not enough real concerns in Delhi you could have reported on, rather than fabricating one. :angry:

totally agree rob - some of the press are resorting to a "let's kick india" tactic. yes the games have been dreadfully organised up to now - but resorting to telling lies stinks!

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Delhi was behind they’ve now court up, get over it

Uh huh...we shall await for Opening Day.

And really, India is only cleaning up its act because of all the international pressure it is receiving. We shall see if everything will be done in time.

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totally agree rob - some of the press are resorting to a "let's kick india" tactic. yes the games have been dreadfully organised up to now - but resorting to telling lies stinks!

Frankly as soon as 'Barcelona Tonight' makes any claims regarding serious investigative journalism you steer clear of the story. They are at their best mixing up stories about best fitting bras for plus sized women, shonky real estate agents from Queensland and how to get cheaper cuts of meat from your supermarket...real journalism is way beyond their capabilities or ethos.

Having said that I don't think this was part of a "Let's kick India" campaign; if anything I suspect it was a way to get great ratings from a sensationalist story that appealed to much that tabloid journalism audiences like (including looking at the heady mix of the Commonwealth Games which is something Aussies generally enjoy immensely, and terrorism which scares the crap out of anyone). Plus it also was a nice little dig at Channel 10's coverage of the CGs, which undoubtedly has undergone some serious damage thanks to the stuff ups courtesy of the OC fecking up or waiting till the very last minute.

Problem is that these kinds of stories get run by the supposedly more credible media outlets who spread it to an audience unfamiliar with the originating program's less than stellar standards.

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Looks like they've heeded the outrage and stopped using child labour:

Langurs to keep monkeys away during Commonwealth Games

monkeys24072y.jpg

New Delhi: To keep monkeys away from the Commonwealth Games venues here, the civic authorities are now ‘deploying' langurs. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has brought in 10 langurs for the same, an official said. The NDMC already has 28 langurs, which are used to scare monkeys in VIP areas of the Capital.

“From Tuesday, we will increase the number of langurs to 38. The additional langurs will take care of the Games venues and other important areas,” said the official

The Municipal Corporation has constituted a special team for making rounds of all Games venues facing monkey menace. — PTI

The Hindu

Edited by Sir Rols
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I guess it's cheaper for them to pay peanuts rather than rupees.

Frankly as soon as 'Barcelona Tonight' makes any claims regarding serious investigative journalism you steer clear of the story. They are at their best mixing up stories about best fitting bras for plus sized women, shonky real estate agents from Queensland and how to get cheaper cuts of meat from your supermarket...real journalism is way beyond their capabilities or ethos.

You forgot that other staple of their (and also A Current Affair's) nightly story list - moral outrage at programs on rival networks that have the temerity to outrate their own networks' offerings.

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I guess it's cheaper for them to pay peanuts rather than rupees.

You forgot that other staple of their (and also A Current Affair's) nightly story list - moral outrage at programs on rival networks that have the temerity to outrate their own networks' offerings.

Hmmm...interesting story there from Martin Di Stasio :P

On to different journalism issues with Delhi 2010:

'You will never speak to them': Security stops journalists from interviewing Australian athletes

Security fears linger over the Commonwealth Games and Indian police have shown no hesitation in refusing to allow athletes to address the media on their arrival in Delhi.

With officials aiming to tighten security as Sunday's opening ceremony approaches, Australia's gymnastics team was strangely denied a chance to speak to the press after touching down at Delhi's Indira Gandhi airport late on Monday.

Despite having waited almost three hours for a delayed flight to speak to gold medal hope Lauren Mitchell, Australian media people were told by police shortly before the arrival they would not be able to ask any questions.

It came despite reporters having arranged the interview and having earlier spoken to members of Australia's bowls team at the same location on Monday morning.

"You will not speak to them, you will never speak to them," one inspector told bemused reporters.

Despite the protests of Australian officials, the gymnasts were ordered straight to their waiting bus and were allowed only to wave and smile at the cameras.

It is believed reporters from other nations had also been denied access to athletes at the airport on Monday.

With a strong police presence, the hardline stance came despite Games authorities still being unable to secure the lockdown of Games venues, a process that has been delayed because finishing touches are still being applied.

The gymnasts were the second of a host of Australian squads due to arrive in the coming days as final preparations take shape for the event.

Australia's netballers, women's hockey team and track cyclists were among others arriving imminently to take up residence in the controversial athletes' village.

Many nations, the latest being Pakistan, are concerned about the state of the village but Australian officials have remained diplomatic and confident the accommodation will not affect any athletes' performances.

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Don't you love the carefree and happy atmosphere that is being exuded from Delhi 2010:

Delhi is a city crippled by fear

Jacquelin Magnay in Delhi

September 29, 2010 - 12:26PM

Security personnel stand guard in Delhi.

If terrorists wanted a city paralysed and panic-stricken about security, they have already won the propaganda battle ahead of Sunday's opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. Tourist numbers are down, the organising committee are having difficulty selling tickets and hoteliers are complaining of empty rooms.

The projected bonanza of 100,000 extra people flocking to New Delhi to celebrate the Games has failed to materialise. Local tourist bodies say that only about 10,000 people have travelled here because of the Games.

The athletes are virtually bunkered in the Games village and the training venues. Many countries have banned their teams from leaving the security-fenced area.

Everyone is on tenterhooks, fearing that the 300 tonnes of explosives that went missing from a convoy of 61 trucks last month in India could be used to target the Games.

The sense of fear is as thick as the chemicals being sprayed on to all the nearby pools of stagnant water, to rid the area of Dengue fever-carrying mosquitoes.

The New Delhi police have, however, upped their security presence at the athletes' village. The reason? Theft of bathroom fittings by the hordes of workers recruited to clean up the accommodation mess in the past week.

One example of the tension over security occurred yesterday, when two England hockey players found themselves stuck outside a security checkpoint in the sun for nearly an hour near the athletes' village without the accreditation needed to get through an entrance dedicated for VIPs.

They casually mentioned their hotel accommodation and I wrote it down to be able to find them later on for a comment. The team manager, David Faulkner, saw the name of the hotel on my notepad and furiously demanded that the information be crossed out "for security purposes".

He later apologised for being so aggressive, but acknowledged that the security was the biggest concern for everyone in New Delhi.

Some international delegations have complained to their embassy security experts about suspicious characters lurking in and around the Games village.

Yesterday, alleged leaked intelligence documents from New Delhi authorities surfaced, which reportedly claimed the feared Naxalite terrorist group, from east India, and a local Mars militant group had been heard in phone intercepts organising the supply of explosives to unleash at the Games.

Local police have not yet confirmed whether the documents, which surfaced on a Pakistani website, are genuine.

The document purports to state: "Conversations of the group indicated the Mars has fronted for someone to acquire especially from the police, the group, as per raw intelligence, the supply explosives, gelatin sticks and detonators to the Naxalites and structured pay-offs transactions for attacks on CWG, New Delhi including foreign teams and officials". The document also says the group comprises a large network and supply line.

Meanwhile the organising committee has come under fire for hiring 38 middle and top-level staff who are related to more than a dozen of its most senior officials.

And in another leak, exposing the tensions between the organising committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation, the CGF chief executive, Mike Hooper, was alleged to have had six staff at his New Delhi accommodation and his income tax paid for by the New Delhi government.

So it could be that whilst the terrorists try and smuggle bombs into the venues the workers are smuggling taps out. Must be a bonanza for any Indians with a combined plumbing and demolition concession :blink:

Delhi 2010: The Friendly Games :D :D

Edited by eusebius65
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Back to the subject...

Looks like if you want to go see the OC or CC then seats (well one's that hopefully won't fall apart or be used by stray dogs for rest and defecation) are still available

That seemed to be the next obvious concern - can the people of Delhi actually afford to go, and with foreign supporters pretty much discouraged in the Western media at least, empty seats seem an inevitability.

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Just a few more updates from the Indian Fantasy Zone (i.e. Delhi 2010, where if Kalmadi dreams long and hard enough perhaps it will come true :P ):

Kiwi athletes prevented from leaving village

Aaron Lawton

October 1, 2010 - 10:59AM

New Zealand's Commonwealth Games team boss Dave Currie is standing by the Olympic Committee's decision to prevent Kiwi athletes from leaving their secure environs to explore Delhi.

The decision was made last week in the interests of athlete safety and Currie said he didn't envisage any complaints from his team which will total almost 200 sportspeople.

He said the New Zealand athletes were in Delhi to compete not to take in the sights...(see here for full story)

Rushdie slams humiliating Delhi Games

October 1, 2010 - 10:19AM

NEW DELHI: Indian-born novelist Salman Rushdie has slammed the chaotic preparations for the Delhi Commonwealth Games as a "great humiliation" and recommended a "severe spanking" for a leading official.

"It's been a great humiliation for us all," the award-winning author of Midnight's Children told India's NDTV television network in an interview from New York.

"I feel very embarrassed by it and I'm sure many, many people in India feel the same way." (See here for full story)

Commonwealth Games medical chief Tarun Garg ill with typhoid

THE chief medical officer for the crisis-stricken Delhi Commonwealth Games has been struck down with a suspected case of typhoid.

The news that Tarun Garg is on sick leave was the latest setback for an event already blighted by rampant corruption, allegations that safety certificates for several stadiums have been forged and scathing criticism of uninhabitable athletes’ lodgings.

In the run-up to the $3 billion Games health fears have mostly centred on a serious outbreak of dengue fever, an excruciatingly painful and potentially deadly mosquito-borne disease.

Hundreds of fresh cases are being confirmed in Delhi daily by private clinics, but are not being reported by the authorities, it was revealed last week. It has also been reported that only two of the 11 medical centres created for the Games are in operation and most of the 3000 CCTV cameras covering the event are malfunctioning. (See here for the full story)

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We've got some major organisational problems with the netball competition, the chief netball rep in Delhi is not a happy lady. She has given the OC til midnight Sunday to sort their sh1t out or else the competition won't be able to start on schedule.

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Good news that the village is now a decent living standard? That a bridge has been fixed? That the migrant workers have now been sent home?

I'm sorry but I am not about to praise the basics India is putting in place in a rush which should have been ready months ago.

We all want good safe Games for the athletes and the improvements are what was required, not some special bonus.

The filth in the rooms was real, and now the clean rooms are real too.

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