Delhi 2010

[zuvenile]

Discovering the 'unliveable'

Dave Kosoof writes about what he discovered on arrival at Delhi's Games village.

http://tvnz.co.nz/commonwealth-games/dave-kosoof-discovering-unliveable-3793271

[Scotguy]

BREAKING NEWS

Has just heard here on the news that a bridge close to the Commonwealth Games site has collapsed with 19 people injured, no other info so far

[Lachie]

CWG: Bridge collapses near JLN stadium, 23 injured

Updated on Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 17:12

Tags: Delhi, CWG, foot-over bridge, collapses, JLN stadium

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Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: In yet another setback to the preparations for the Commonwealth Games, major part of an under-construction foot-over bridge near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed on Tuesday afternoon.

As per initial reports, the incident happened at around 3 pm today when a hanging-type foot-over bridge that was being constructed near the stadium collapsed all of sudden.

Amid contradictory reports about the number of injured, Deputy Commissioner of Police HGS Dhaliwal confirmed that 23 labourers working at the site were injured in the incident out which five are said to be critical and have been admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, while four others have been rushed to the Safdarjung Hospital.

PWD officials and Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta claimed that only two workers were injured in the incident.

As per PWD principal engineer AK Sinha, the bridge was meant to be used by visitors during the commonwealth Games and was being erected using special technology. “It works using a system of pins attached the structure and it seems one of the pin(s) snapped due to the rest of the bridge,” he said.

Fire brigade teams, along with automated cranes, have also reached the spot are working towards removing the debris from the site.

The incident is likely to cause much embarrassment to the Delhi government, which is under pressure to complete the remaining construction work for the upcoming CWG events.

The opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, the biggest sporting event being hosted by India since the 1982 Asiad Games, will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Oct 3. The stadium, the showpiece of the event, will also host the closing ceremony.

This games and this country are an absolute joke and embarrassment. Good luck trying to host any sporting event of significance in the future. They can't even host their own cricket event (20/20)

[Rafa]

[Rob2012]

Words fail me....

[Rafa]

I found an Indian News Channel I never knew we had here. The press conference is chaos.

Live from the press conference

"Your standards of hygiene and my standards of hygiene in the village may be different. There are so many levels of hygiene. We cannot every time clean the toilets or lock the room"

[LuigiVercotti]

ABC Radio carried two reports about the farce that is Delhi 2010 on their nighty current affairs program 'PM'...they can be heard here:

PM 21st September 2010

However in case there are probs hearing them here is a sizeable chunk of the first report and the second in full:

MICHAEL EDWARDS: Commonwealth Games officials are also worried. The Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell says he's shocked about the condition of the village. He says the village should be the cornerstone of the games. Mr Fennell says that he's demanded that Indian officials immediately act to fix the situation.

Someone who knows the importance of an athletes village is Sandy Hollway, the former chief executive of the organising committee for the Sydney Olympic Games.

SANDY HOLLOWAY: It has to be the home to athletes and officials from around the world for the period of the event. They have to feel at home there. They have to feel it's a happy place to be as well as comfortable and you know a place from which they, really a base for the whole games.

I think the Olympic Games we had about 16,000 athletes and officials at the Sydney village out at Homebush Bay. With the Commonwealth Games I think it's probably more like 6,000. But that's a lot of people. It's a lot to organise.

The Sydney games I think from memory we served about 60,000 meals a day or something to the athletes. And it would be a similarly, well it would be a smaller burden for the Commonwealth Games but nonetheless a very big one.

And it's the hub from which the athletes need to fan out for of course their competition and their training and so on. So it's very important indeed.

MICHAEL EDWARDS: But despite the problems Sandy Hollway says he hopes the New Delhi games are a big success.

SANDY HOLLOWAY: You know there's a strong fraternal feeling between organisers. So I hope they, I hope they manage to do it very, very well indeed. But clearly you know a village is an essential component of a Commonwealth Games just as with an Olympic Games

MARK COLVIN: Our correspondent Jane Cowan is in New Delhi and joins me now. Any sense of panic there?

JANE COWAN: No. I mean it's very much being played down still at this end Mark as with the security concerns. The organisers have shrugged off the criticism.

They're saying that everything will be fine and that they're working round the clock to get the games village ready and there will be no problems. And this has been the line from organisers all along no matter what the issue is.

The organising committee head Suresh Kalmadi has described this village previously as a work of art. He says it's world class. And he said very confidently that he's sure the athletes will love it. And he actually proudly led the media through the village last week. And it was a rare good news day for them. At that stage everything did appear to be more or less finished.

The media were given a great meal in the games kitchen and it was a positive experience. But it seems that they haven't been able to convince all the teams.

MARK COLVIN: Have you seen the quarters which weren't good enough for the New Zealand team?

JANE COWAN: Well we haven't obviously seen the ones that they're talking about I don't think. The media were shown one apartment selectively. It did seem okay Mark. It was a bit grubby but this is a developing country.

A doorframe was sort of hanging a little bit off. The toilet in the one we were shown didn't flush which I guess doesn't bode well for the apartments we weren't shown.

MARK COLVIN: I mean if that's the showcase apartment…

JANE COWAN: (Laughs) That's right, yeah. At the time we did ask the CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation Mike Hooper who lives here in New Delhi about reports that some of the towers hadn't been connected to the water supply, reports that were circulating at the time. And he didn't respond to that. He said he wouldn't respond to rumours. He wasn't aware of that.

Today here in India the media are reporting that the apartments are being routinely left unlocked day and night and used by labourers to the point where the toilets are in a mess. So it's no longer a good news story.

MARK COLVIN: The chef de mission of the New Zealand team told New Zealand radio from Delhi that it would be, not only that it would be extremely hard for India to get across the line but he said if the village is not ready and athletes can't come obviously the implications of that are that it's not going to happen.

In other words the games would be cancelled even. Is that kind of statement being even reported there?

JANE COWAN: It's being reported yes. But there is no, there is none of the alarm that you would expect to see in response to that from the Indian organisers. It's very much sort of you know just another one of the problems that they've encountered from dengue to security to delays.

So they seem to be taking it in their stride at this stage. And they're certainly not you know giving any credence to those suggestions that the whole thing could be called off. They seem to see that as quite a ridiculous proposition.

MARK COLVIN: Thank you very much Jane.

Farce...pure and simple.

[LuigiVercotti]

I found an Indian News Channel I never knew we had here. The press conference is chaos.

Live from the press conference

"Your standards of hygiene and my standards of hygiene in the village may be different. There are so many levels of hygiene. We cannot every time clean the toilets or lock the room"

You have got to be kidding!!! I guess it's now standard operating procedure for a village better than Beijing's, than Melbournes etc etc must come with fecal matter in the room, unlocked rooms and stagnant ponds breeding dengue fever carrying mozzies as part of the final games fit out.

[Rob2012]

[Rafa]

Hooper: "in simple terms, the rooms are filthy, shower doors are on the wrong way, toilets are incomplete, doors are not installed..."

[LuigiVercotti]

Australian discus thrower bows out of Delhi Games

Australian discus thrower Dani Samuels has withdrawn from the Australian Commonwealth Games team, citing concerns over health and security in Delhi.

Samuels, who claimed gold in the discus at last year's world championships in Berlin, informed Australian team officials of her decision this afternoon.

Her coach, Denis Knowles, said Samuels' withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games was "not an easy decision" and was due in part to Sunday's shooting of two tourists in Delhi and the recent outbreak of dengue fever in the Indian capital.

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Samuels has become the first athlete to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games on account of health and or security fears.

Her move comes on the same day that senior New Zealand officials raised the prospect of pulling their team out of the Commonwealth Games due to the poor state of the athletes' village.

Can someone please tap that pompous goose, that fully blown twat Kalmadi on the shoulder and let him know the jig is up...cancel the games now.

Edited September 21, 2010 by eusebius65

[Rafa]

Commonwealth Games 2010 mess: Foot over-bridge at Nehru stadium collapses

Press Trust of India, Updated: Tue, Sep 21, 2010

New Delhi : In a major embarrassment for organisers of the Commonwealth Games, an under-construction foot over-bridge today collapsed outside the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the main venue of the Commonwealth Games, injuring 23 labourers.

Five of the injured are critical in the incident that occurred at 3.10 PM in Lodhi Road area of South Delhi, police said.

The 95-metre long bridge was being built along with another overbridge at the cost of Rs 10.5 crore by Chandigarh-based company PNR Infra, Delhi government sources told PTI.

Public Works Department of Delhi government, which had given the contract to PNR Infra for constructing the over-bridge as ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The bridge, whose construction was to be completed soon, was to connect the parking lot of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where the opening and closing functions of Commonwealth Games would be held.

Fire department officials said the labourers were putting concrete mix at a portion of the bridge when the incident took place.

PWD Chief Engineer Rakesh Mishra admitted that the incident was a "setback" but expressed confidence that the project would be completed before the Games that start on October 3.

Yesterday, two police personnel, including an officer, had suffered injuries when a canopy erected at the stadium fell on them.

[cormiermax]

Just cancel the damn thing, if they go threw with it someones gonna get hurt or worse.

Edited September 21, 2010 by cormiermax

[LuigiVercotti]

So...which of these articles sound like Delhi is a shambles, and which gives you faith in the organisation of the Delay 2011 Shames:

Nations complain: Dogs, faeces all over CWG Village

Many participating countries have ripped apart the claims of readiness of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) Village in Delhi and threatened to boycott the October event.

Countries such as Scotland, New Zealand and Canada have given damning reports on the conditions at the Village and said their athletes cannot be brought into such an environment.

Headlines Today has exclusive access to the reservations expressed in the minutes of the meeting between the CWG Organising Committee and the member countries.

Here's what some of the countries have said about the condition of the Village:

Scotland

The cleaners were using filthy water to clean the flats. There were stray dogs and faeces all over the place. Electrical services are unsafe. The keys and doors aren't working.

Canada

Stagnant water and green algae sits around the block. There are gaps large enough for animals to get into the building. As of today, Canada will not bring athletes into this environment.

New Zealand

There is no way the athletes can use the dirty and unhygienic bathrooms. There's no way athletes can be brought into such a Village. It's a crisis-level situation.

UK

The toilets are disgusting and still being used by workers on the site.

Commonwealth Games Federation

All stray dogs need to be removed from the Village. One dog even jumped onto a bed and soiled it. This is a serious health issue. The risk of dengue fever is high. The employees are urinating openly in public areas. (my bold font)

Reddy rubbishes CGF CEO's claims

Unperturbed by the international condemnations of the preparations at the Games Village, Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy on Tuesday brushed off the objections raised by the top officials of Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).

Speaking to Headlines Today, a seemingly offensive Reddy ridiculed the people who have raised the objections. This is despite the fact that, taking strong objection to the state of Village as reported by the CGF authorities, the prime minister's office on Tuesday told the Delhi government to take charge of its preparations from the Games organising committee.

"The fittings are in place. There is no difficulty in the supply of basic services. All the basic services are being delivered. Some friends could be too finicky," Reddy said.

Earlier in the day, CGF CEO Mike Hooper had expressed disappointment over the conditions of Games Village calling it "filthy" and "un-livable".

However Reddy feels that Hooper is just jumping the gun and people were getting finicky about irrelevant things.

"To the best of my knowledge, I can say that there is no problem in supply of water. There is plentiful supply of power, air-conditioners. All the bathrooms are working with their wonderful fittings. Maybe some people attach too much importance to the minor things," Reddy said.

It must be reassuring for the athletes of the Commonwealth that public piddling and dog sh!t on beds are minor things....

[Rafa]

I apologize. He said "“For us and for you it is clean. But they (the foreign countries) have a different standard of cleanliness. It is a matter of difference in perception.”

[LuigiVercotti]

I apologize. He said "“For us and for you it is clean. But they (the foreign countries) have a different standard of cleanliness. It is a matter of difference in perception.”

I guess this is the alternate reality where the perception of faeces and urine is actually hygenic, and are utterly normal when found on your bed or excreted in front of you by a total stranger, once you enter the fantasy kingdom of Kalmadi's Kaotic Kapers....

[Rafa]

Well at the press conference he started off with

"You see this room i.e. press conference room, ...for us and for you its clean..etc

The saddest part is that 23 labourers fell with the bridge or off the bridge, yet nobody seems to care about them

[huaiwei]

As I followed the news about the games since years ago, I cannot be heave a sigh of sadness at how things are going. But if the games are cancelled in the interests of the athletes, I suppose one positive thing for India is that those over-stuffed egos which seem to dominant certain sectors of Indian society get a huge reality check for once.

And somehow, I felt a quiet sense of relief that Singapore 2010 came and went without much fanfare, but also without much trouble, when Singapore only had two years to get everything ready.

[Rafa]

These Indian "do not smoke" ads are awesome. Dramatic!

[LuigiVercotti]

Well at the press conference he started off with

"You see this room i.e. press conference room, ...for us and for you its clean..etc

The saddest part is that 23 labourers fell with the bridge or off the bridge, yet nobody seems to care about them

Mo, what can you expect from organisers that have been culpable in some form or another with the deaths of over 40 workers during the construction of the venues.

As I followed the news about the games since years ago, I cannot be heave a sigh of sadness at how things are going. But if the games are cancelled in the interests of the athletes, I suppose one positive thing for India is that those over-stuffed egos which seem to dominant certain sectors of Indian society get a huge reality check for once.

And somehow, I felt a quiet sense of relief that Singapore 2010 came and went without much fanfare, but also without much trouble, when Singapore only had two years to get everything ready.

Any interest in hosting the CGs using some YOG venue facilities Huaiwei?

[huaiwei]

Any interest in hosting the CGs using some YOG venue facilities Huaiwei?

Haha thanks but no. We are going to be busy closing roads for our F1 race this weekend!

[Soaring]

This is the first article I have seen in American media about the dismal preparations and the footbridge collapse:

Footbridge collapse injures 23 in Indian capital

[Ikarus360]

A message for SSC indian users who will probably (or already did) come here and start to defend this...

Delhi 2010 is going to be a disaster, whatever you like it or not. Face reality already. Is not the fault of the media but yours.

There, i said it. Go and hate me now

[Rob2012]

Well, it's the top story on the BBC News website now!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

[cormiermax]

India is a horrible country, why they were awarded these games is beyond me. I hope this will be the last time for a very long time India is awarded an international event.

Edited September 21, 2010 by cormiermax