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I think the runup to these games have been nothing but bad. If India is really intending to uses these games as a coming out party like Beijing's, then they really far for it. Also I think the bad pubilicity has also really squashed India's goal of a future Olympic bid similar to how Cairo's tail got bitten during the 1991 All-Africa Games.

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Originally posted by SSC Addict on Skyscrapercity forum.

Skyscrapercity forum

Games press centre inaugurated

Games Press Centre

New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni Monday inaugurated the state-of-the-art main press centre (MPC) of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) here.

The press centre, which is one of the largest in the history of Commonwealth Games, was inaugurated in the presence of CWG Organizing Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi.

The centre will be run by the Press Information Bureau. A dedicated workforce of around 1,000 people will run the press operation at the MPC and across the venues during the Games.

The MPC is located at Pragati Maidan and is built over an area of 6,700 square metres. It will cater to 2,000 journalists including around 800 from overseas. It can accommodate 600 journalists at one go.

The MPC will have workstations for 400 journalists and 200 photographers. As many as 600 national and international photographers will be covering the Games. There are around 1,300 photo-positions across the Games venues.

For the first time in the history of the Commonwealth Games, the MPC will have high-definition cable television sets in eight viewing rooms.

SOURCE:Daylife

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Sigh! It's all too easy finding the latest glitches, but this latest, with Fennel saying the village is "compromised" is actually quite disturbing only a few days ahead of its opening to the athletes.

CGF chief Fennell condemns Games Village preparations

NEW DELHI: Commonwealth Games Federation chief Michael Fennell thinks the Athletes Village is in a "seriously compromised" condition just days before it opens to athletes arriving for the Oct. 3-14 New Delhi Games.

Fennell issued a statement Tuesday saying the village, which opens to athletes on Thursday, has been a concern since federation officials visited the residential zone on Sept. 15 and he'd written to the Indian government urging immediate action because "many issues remain unresolved."

"The Village is the cornerstone of any Games and the athletes deserve the best possible environment to prepare for their competition," Fennell said.

Fennell said the advance parties from the international Commonwealth Games Associations had been impressed with the international zone and main dining areas, "however, the condition of the residential zone has shocked the majority of CGAs that are in Delhi."

"Despite their attempts to work with the organizing committee in a constructive manner since arriving on Sept. 15, significant operational matters remain unaddressed," Fennell said. "The problems are arising because deadlines for the completion of the village have been consistently pushed out. Now, the high security around the site, while vital, is slowing progress and complicating solutions."

The buildup to the games has been plagued by problems with construction of venues and infrastructure falling way behind schedule, causing concern over the safety and quality of the buildings and speculation of corruption in the awarding of contracts and structural certificates.

The New Zealand Commonwealth Games team has already been allocated new accommodation in the village in after describing its original residence as substandard.

New Zealand chef de mission Dave Currie, who is currently in New Delhi, said work to improve conditions in the village was progressing more slowly than expected and much needed to be done before its official opening.

"While cleanliness had been a concern for us, further inspection has revealed some issues with plumbing, wiring, internet access and mobile phone coverage," Currie said in a statement. "We will now be advising sports that the accommodation is less than expected.

"While our new tower may be close to being ready, there are large sections of the village that are not yet ready for athlete arrival."

An Indian newspaper reported Tuesday that only 18 of 34 residential towers at the village were complete.

The Times of India newspaper said New Zealand, Canada, Scotland and Ireland had complained of "unliveable" conditions in their apartment blocks.

The area set aside for New Zealand's team of more than 300 athletes and officials was the worst of any in the village, the newspaper reported.

Currie said delays in finishing the village had had a flow-on effect, delaying a planned security sweep which must be carried out before the opening. Security officials from New Zealand and other competing nations were closely monitoring progress.

"The village is now undergoing a phased lockdown," Currie said. "Our security advisers believe that progress remains acceptable at this stage. The next steps are for the village to be fully screened and handed over to the organizing committee in time for the 23rd. Our security team will then be able to fully assess the process."

The Times of India

Edited by Sir Rols
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How can things get any worse?

Dozens of deaths building the venues...check

Human rights violations of Delhi's urban poor and underclasses...check

Corruption and exploitation in the process of deliverying the organisation of the CGs...check

Failure to obtain or keep key sponsors...check

Doping scandals involving home nation athletes which require financial remediation from the games committee...check

Unsanitary environmental conditions near the venues and athlete's village...check

Repeated failure to deliver on promises and dead lines...check

Jingoistic boasting from the organisers that are all hyperbole and do nothing to improve our perception of Delhi contrasted with Beijing or Melbourne...check

Terrorist activity which threatens the delivery of the games in a safe manner to the athletes, officals and games tourists...check

Budget blow outs...check

Um, aside from the multimedia balloon being hijacked by Kashmiri separatists or someone of that ilk I don't think there is much else that can go wrong with these shames.

By the way if the Kiwis are being moved who is going into their unsatisfactory digs? Surely not one or more delegations from the less powerful CG nations/teams?

And as of about 1.00pm AEST:

NZ says Delhi Games could be called off

The Delhi Commonwealth Games are at risk of being called off, New Zealand's team chief says.

New Zealand chef de mission Dave Currie said on Tuesday the ill prepared state of the athletes village in Delhi had raised the prospect of cancelling the October 3-14 Games.

"That is not a decision that we'll make but there are some realities," Currie told New Zealand radio station newstalkZB.

"If the village is not ready and athletes can't come, obviously the implications of that are that it's not going to happen.

"I think they are in severe difficulties.

"In the timeframe that is left, unless there is tremendous effort and energy and problem solving ability to get it done, I think it's going to be extremely hard to get across the line.

"They've got a little bit of time but it's kind of two seconds to midnight really."

Currie's comments came within hours of Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Mike Fennell expressing grave concern about the athletes' village, saying the facility was "seriously compromised".

"Many issues remain unresolved," Fennell said in a statement.

"Many nations that have already sent their advanced parties to set up within the village have made it abundantly clear that ... the Commonwealth Games village is seriously compromised.

" ... The condition of the residential zone has shocked the majority ... significant operational matters remained unaddressed."

Fennell has written to the Indian government, imploring the immediate deployment of resources to fix problems, without elaborating on the specific nature of the issues.

New Zealand was among nations to complain about the village, and had subsequently been shifted into a separate accommodation building.

Currie said the half-built nature of New Zealand's proposed initial accommodation was "extraordinarily disappointing".

He said there was still a large amount of post-construction clean-up to be completed, along with issues surrounding cleanliness, plumbing, wiring, internet and mobile phones.

"It's pretty grim really and certainly disappointing when you consider the amount of time they've had to get the village ready for athletes to arrive," he said.

Currie said although the New Zealand team had been shifted, there was still remedial work to be carried out on their new area.

New Zealand Olympic Committee president Mike Stanley and secretary-general Barry Maister were travelling to Delhi on Tuesday.

Stanley said New Zealand was working with five other nations - Australia, England, Scotland, Wales and Canada - in assessing preparations for the Games.

He said the group had voiced their concerns "at the highest possible level".

"What they are frustrated by is not enough action, not enough quick action, to see that, between the time we have now and the athletes coming into the village, or even the opening of the Games, things are going to be ready," Stanley told NZPA.

"As the clock ticks down, that becomes more critical."

Stanley did not want to speculate on how big a risk there was that the Games might not be able to proceed on time.

"There has always been a chance that something could happen to the Games," he said.

If any of the major nations pull out of Delhi 2010 then the rammifications will be fatal to the CG's this year plus a body blow to the CGF. Expect some extremely fiece and expensive lobbying between now and the potential opening...

Edited by eusebius65
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I am very nervous.

Cold showers and having no access to Facebook is one thing, but there can be no lapse in security.

If the Canadian officials can not be convinced that the necessary (and rehearsed) security arrangements are put into place then they must keep the Canadian delegation from arriving.

I am sure other countries would feel the same way.

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Surely there's a good case to postpone them for six months or so?

I think it's a case of crash or crash through Rols...can you imagine all the schedules that are tightly wired around the games happening as planned? TV broadcasters, sporting federations, sponsor tie-ins, Delhi's own municipal activities, individual athletes and their upcoming training and participation. If Delhi was to say "Sorry, can you come back in March next year" no one would want to.

There's no way these games will be mounted to the expectations generated by the original bid or the irresponsible boosting from Kalmadi's Kronies...if they do run that'll be a miracle in itself. I hope Fennell, Lamadi and all the dullards associated with these games go away and have a long hard look at themselves and ask themselves why the feck did they put the Commonwealth Games in such a position. This is far worse than the Athens 2004 run in, the diverted 1986 World Cup or the 1976 Denver rejected Winter Olympics. Thank god for Glasgow and no doubt the Gold Coast...sanity and efficiency may yet return to the CGF.

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Well, to cut the CGF a bit of slack, I doubt that anybody would have predicted the unholy mess that has occured when they picked Delhi over Hamilton. They were still basking in the aftermath of Kuala Lumpur's successful hosting, by all accounts India had put on a good Afro-Asian games in Hyderbad that year (2003), they had a few Asian Games under their belt and India was already being breathlessly annointed the next emerging prosperous techno-power. It seemed to me at the time that Delhi was a no-brainer for the choice (I would have voted for them), and out of the three late noughties "new frontier" big sports hostings - Beijing 2008, South Africa WC 2010 and Delhi 2010 - I probably would have fewer doubts about Delhi than the others. If I was gonna point a finger, I'd do it at one person - Kalmadi - And I think it's been pretty clear for a while now that the CGF have been losing patience with him and his blatant incompetence and utter thick hide.

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If I was gonna point a finger, I'd do it at one person - Kalmadi - And I think it's been pretty clear for a while now that the CGF have been losing patience with him and his blatant incompetence and utter thick hide.

That may be true, but the puck stops at the CGF. A year ago they should have foreseen that targets were not going to be met and arranged for contingencies. Perhaps pulling events from Delhi and moving them to other cities that have venues and hotel accommodations in place on an emergency, no frills basis.

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It was reported that when the NZ team got to their block in the athletes village, the door was open and in one area there was human faeces on the floor. Its a shame that Glasgow still has some venues and the village to build otherwise id say let us host it twice.

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That may be true, but the puck stops at the CGF. A year ago they should have foreseen that targets were not going to be met and arranged for contingencies. Perhaps pulling events from Delhi and moving them to other cities that have venues and hotel accommodations in place on an emergency, no frills basis.

Again, though, to give the CGF their due, this time last year they were very much putting the hard word on the organisers and telling them to pull their fingers out - even more strongly than when the IOC was threatening Athens with the "Red Card" in the run up to 2004.

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Whats the Athens "red card"?

Oops. My bad. It was "red light". But here, fyi:

Athens 2004 in serious danger, says Samaranch

Accommodation a major worry as Greek government is warned it may lose event

By Derrick Whyte

Friday, 21 April 2000

Three years ago, the Olympic world celebrated the sentimental return of the Games to their birthplace in Greece in 2004. Yesterday the atmosphere was vastly different, with Athens being warned that the event may be transferred elsewhere unless some major obstacles are overcome.

Three years ago, the Olympic world celebrated the sentimental return of the Games to their birthplace in Greece in 2004. Yesterday the atmosphere was vastly different, with Athens being warned that the event may be transferred elsewhere unless some major obstacles are overcome.

The organisers of the games received the warning in a stinging rebuke from the president of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, who publicly told the Greek government that its planning for the event was already some way behind schedule.

The rebuke from Samaranch, who has a reputation for diplomacy and is known for choosing his words carefully, is the most serious he has given to the hosts of an Olympic Games in his two decades in charge of the organisation.

Addressing a conference of Olympic delegates in Lausanne, including representatives from Athens, Samaranch said: "There are three phases with organisation. The green light is that all is going well, the yellow is that the Games has many problems and the red light is that the Games are in danger. We are at the end of the yellow phase. If from now until the end of the year there are not drastic changes, we will enter the red phase."

...

The Independent

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But I thought you were a Kiwi, Scotguy?

I understand NZ got offered alternate accommodation. Is it the case that there just happened to be extra apartments, or is another delegation(s) getting screwed with the subpar NZ rooms?

No Lachie, i am from Glasgow, Scotland, i moved to New Zealand last month, this is just my adopted country. The media here are featuring the Delhi mishaps quite a lot (as if they want the team to pull out) i also check the BBC news everyday and it doesn't seem to be as big news back home. I may be wrong however.

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I posted this to Skyscraper forum but as typical they deleted it

http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/mp/7980450/7news-investigation-new-delhi-security-risk/

WATCH THE VIDEO IT IS JUST SHOCKING!

7News investigation: New Delhi security riskAAP

September 20, 2010, 5:29 pm 123 Comments

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Security concerns have been raised by an Australian television news crew which says it has filmed explosives being sold from illegal shop fronts in New Delhi, just weeks before the Commonwealth Games begin in the Indian capital.

The Seven Network news crew secretly filmed the sale of ammonium nitrate and a range of other explosives, in a report shown on its news broadcast on Monday night.

They also filmed a salesman offering them a remote detonation kit, which could trigger up to 200 explosions, in a restaurant carpark. The kit was built into a rolling suitcase.

Seven says they took the suitcase casing and repeatedly breezed past armed police security at the main arena for the Commonwealth Games.

Ammonium nitrate was the explosive used by in the 2002 Bali Bombing and in the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995.

Security concerns surrounding the Games, starting on October 3, have been heightened by an attack on tourists on Sunday.

The outlawed terror group Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack in which gunmen on motorcycles fired at a tourist bus at the Jama Masjid mosque injuring two Taiwanese nationals.

Indian Mujahideen warned they were preparing for a "great surprise" during the October 3-14 Games.

But the Commonwealth Games Federation has dismissed any link between Sunday's mosque shooting and the Games.

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My previous post was heated and more based around security and nothing to do with CWG preparations, i feel the international community need to understand when it comes to security Indian Govt and its people (not MR K) will do all it can to ensure the security of its visitors like it does for many of visiting cricketing teams.i know in this case the number of athletes coming is higher but do you really think Indian govt or people would like to see an attack on them?where will that leave Indian tourism? as far as security is concerned its more of Indian govt responsibility then MR K and rest assured it can be looked after as best as possible.

As far as preparations for this CWG goes i agree with one and all of you....its been slack and tardy to say the least....here again can u blame the whole population of India for handy of a few corrupt people? i know you are gonna mention the democracy thing....well Indian democracy is a bit more complicated then many other ones....which would explain the current Indian govt supporting certain extreme sections of the society view.they will do anything for votes. Indian public has been watching this whole thing unfold in as much horror as the international community but there isn't much they can do. for example when India won the games bid they could have easily given the contracts for the construction of the games village to successful private real estate companies who have a good track record but instead these corrupt fellows went and handed it to PDW (public works department) who is known to never complete any work on time. The PWD then gave out the contracts to many other small contractors each step of the way making commissions and not knowing whether these contractors can finish the work on time or not. All this to make a few bucks more. And believe me you this wild scale corruption doesn't not just stop at MR K's doorstep it goes further up into the someone big in the ruling party. Otherwise how do u explain him hanging on to the main post even after he was completely exposed by the Indian media?

From yesterday it being mentioned that the CWG village is not ready. no surprise in that the construction believe it or not was deliberately stalled why?well our friend MR K here has promised customers to most of the 5 star hotels in Delhi during CWG and what better way to do that then divert athletes to the hotels by making sure the village was not up to the mark. If u check most of the hotels in Delhi they have all completed their renovations and is ready to take in these athletes after all its an "emergency". MR K again stands to gain some commissions from this. While making this cunning plan MR K had not taken into perspective the headache it was going to cause to the security personnel all he cared about was money.

Now when it comes to eviction of people from slum areas....many of these slum dwellers (who are illegally occupying lands) have been offered better housing for many years now....most of the time they refuse because living in these dwellings mean they can rip of electricity and water without having to pay for it and also the localities are in the heart of the city. Many a times they have even accepted the accommodation given to them by the govt and gone on to rent it out and continue to live in their slums. what do u do in these situations? in places like Bombay its the slums where you will find half the weapons that is used against the nation. so from a security point of view also these slums can pose a major risk as its very easy to launch an attack from there and get away with it.

When it comes to dengue and the monsoons i have no Idea why they even bid for the games knowing what season it would be held in. Answer here is the same i guess "making money form CWG"

As far as doping is concerned let me give u a clear picture, India is a country of one sport - CRICKET. Everything else is just plain time pass. I have been to Australia, China, England and few more other countries and i have seen how they nurture, advice and train their athletes from their schooling days, let me tell you that doesn't happen in India. Might explain why the second largest population in the world walks away from the Olympics with just one Gold Medal. The point im trying to make here is these athletes are not advised properly what medications or supplements they should or should not take.There is nor proper body in India to do so. All you got is many federations like tennis federation, weightlifting federation etc who are all looking at making money. Oh and i almost forgot our beloved MR K is the chief of one such federation for many years now. I do wish we had some system in place to look after these athletes but sadly we are far from it and things like the failed doping test is gonna pop up again and again as athletes themselves are not aware of what they should or shouldn't take.

To the forumers here want i want to say is yes your are right about the preparations and have the write to complain. Hell u can even ask MR K to be sent to the international court to stand trial.

But as far as security is concerned the govt is doing its best to protect its visitors but things do happen i had pulled in the situation of the international students in OZ to point this point out.I am aware that oz govt is doing all it can to stop such attacks but sometimes thing happen and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Here is hoping nothing happens if CWG takes place.

So please appreciate the effort taken into providing security to all the Athletes rather than mixing it with all the other corruption related activities that have gone on around these games.

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No Lachie, i am from Glasgow, Scotland, i moved to New Zealand last month, this is just my adopted country. The media here are featuring the Delhi mishaps quite a lot (as if they want the team to pull out) i also check the BBC news everyday and it doesn't seem to be as big news back home. I may be wrong however.

I didn't ask you that question ScotGuy, 4seasonscentre did.... look at your quote. :lol:

But thanks for the info...

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No Lachie, i am from Glasgow, Scotland, i moved to New Zealand last month, this is just my adopted country. The media here are featuring the Delhi mishaps quite a lot (as if they want the team to pull out) i also check the BBC news everyday and it doesn't seem to be as big news back home. I may be wrong however.

Well, it was only a matter of timezones between NZ's complaints and the BBC picking up on England and Scotland's. Of course, we're in a more delicate situation what with London 2012 and Glasgow 2014 coming up:

Scotland and England's Commonwealth Games teams are concerned the poor quality of the athletes village in Delhi may put the whole event in doubt.

Scottish officials found their original accommodation to be "unsafe and unfit for human habitation".

England are "optimistic" they will compete, but have said the village requires urgent work before the Games begin on 3 October.

The English team claim that India's monsoon weather has revealed new plumbing and electrical problems ahead of the arrival of their first athletes on Thursday.

"Commonwealth Games England remains optimistic that England participation at the Games can go ahead," read a statement.

"However there is a lot still to be done in the Village and this needs to be done with some urgency."

New Zealand, along with Canada and Northern Ireland, have described the conditions in the Village as "unliveable" and found alternative rooms for their 300-strong contingent of athletes and officials.

LINK

:angry:

Edited by RobH
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