Common Wealth Games Corruption, CWG Scam

Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said on Tuesday that the incidence of foot over-bridge near the main Games venue of the Common Wealth Games is a ‘minor hiccup’ and Delhi has seen a lot of bigger problems than these. He then goes to say that the games will be very successful. 20 laborers who are injured, five of them critically looks like a minor issue to him; imagine what he would have said had the same bridge fallen on a political leader.

It is a national shame that Rs.70,000 crore of tax payer money has been spent in Common Wealth Games and the Olympic contingent from countries like Canada, New Zealand, Wales and Scotland have decided that the Common Wealth Village is just unlivable and deplorable. Rs. 70000 crore to build a filth, terrible infrastructure which consists of stray dogs loitering in the building, feces lying in places where they are not supposed to be, water leaking in the bathrooms and many such unmentionables.

OC secretary-general Lalit Bhanot even cracked a joke to ‘t’ease the situation “The standards of cleanliness and hygiene differ from person to person. What one thinks is clean may not appear that clean to others.”
On the other hand, New Zealand chef de mission Dave Currie has suggested the Games might even have to be cancelled. He told New Zealand commercial radio on Tuesday: "If the village is not ready and athletes can't come, obviously the implications of that are that it's not going to happen."It's pretty grim really and certainly disappointing when you consider the amount of time they had to prepare."

One fails to understand why there is no competence and zero accountability, no one is willing to take responsibility for the sad state of affairs; everyone is bent on passing the buck. The games should have been the direct responsibility of the Indian cabinet ministry and not something that has been outsourced by the Delhi state to IOC. A prime minister of the caliber of Manmohan Singh seems to have take the matter lightly and did not bother chucking Kalmadi out, allowing the Indian horror show called ‘Common Wealth Games’ to continue.

No doubt, there is too much pressure on the government to make amendments but the fact is the Common Wealth Games that will be held in Glasgow 4 years from now will have ¼ th of the cost that is being savagely plundered in CWG. If India’s sporting infrastructure as well as Indian sporting face has to improve, we need to take politicians out and making sports-people administrators, only then we will be able to say that we are worthy of holding a game of this stature. For now, we are an international joke.