Empty stands, collapsing scoreboards have put a dampener on India’s gold rush

Even as India’s gold rush continues to dominate the headlines the ground reality of the Commonwealth Games is quite bad. It hasn’t been an ideal opening few days for the Commonwealth Games organisers. Empty stands, collapsing scoreboards, vomiting swimmers and striking officials — things are still going wrong.

And on Friday CWG boss Mike Fennel finally let his frustration show, blaming the Delhi Organising Committee for all the blunders, claiming India’s inexperience of holding major events is costing them dear. What triggered this reaction was the OC’s inability to obtain permission for helicopters to fly over the city to film the cycling road race on Sunday and Wednesday, as well as the men’s and women’s marathons on Thursday.

“We need helicopters to cover the races but they need to fly into restricted airspace over the capital,” he explained. “Today we are seeking approval for the TV helicopters to fly into those areas.
There is no Plan B. Clearance should have been gained, but it’s
inexperience of holding major events. The planning should have been in place,” he admitted.

In a way, Fennel has hit the nail on its head. Lack of experience has certainly hampered the Games. Each venue has multiple authorities, creating huge logistical hassles. For instance, the responsibility to construct the venues lies with the Delhi Development Authority along with the Public Works Department.

These venues, which are owned by the Sports Authority of India, are right now under the control of the Organising Committee for the Games. Security at the venues is being provided by Delhi Police. Hence, basic protocols of all these bodies have to be followed.

The biggest hurdle has been the transport facility. On Friday, the athletics judges have threatened to strike unless there is an improvement in their transport arrangements. The officials were kept waiting for buses to take them to their hotels for four hours on the opening night of the athletics programme, with many not getting to bed until 2am before having to return to the stadium six hours later.

Canadian delegate Richard Thomas said things needed to be more smoother. “We have to go through two, three levels of bureaucracy to get one thing in place. There should be a central access point where everything will be done,” Thomas told DNA.

Media persons have constantly complained of the three layer security they have to pass at each venue, delaying their work. Plus the non-functioning scanners at some venues make matters worse. “Mediapersons and the official delegates already have their accreditation. Yet we spend around 15 minutes at the security gates. It is only us who have to go through it. I haven’t seen that kind of security for the spectators,” remarked a journalist from Scotland.

Lack of publicity of the events has forced the OC to distribute free passes of the venues.

OC secretary general Lalit Bhanot said inexperience isn’t hampering the Games. “It is true that things would have been better if we had test events but all of us are doing a good job. We are fully competent,” Bhanot said.