No further delay please, CoCom pleads

The home stretch might still be some time away, but the Commonwealth Games Federation’s (CGF) Coordination Commission (CoCom) chief Alan Sealy is hoping things fall in place much before that.

Here, along with other members of the commission, Sealy said after three days of inspections and studying reports from various agencies that though there had been progress over the past two months, work needed to be accelerated further.

Sealy said that the commission was concerned that the timetable had been extended by at least three months since the September deadline and that most venues will not be handed over to the Organising Committee (OC) till June.

“We urge the construction agencies to ensure that no further delays are encountered as this will place the OC in a difficult position and compromise final preparations and Games readiness,” Sealy said on Wednesday after the commission glossed over detailed presentations from a range of functional areas like infrastructure, security, transport, accreditation, village operations, technology and venue operations.

But Sealy expressed satisfaction at the reports and the increased awareness among Indian officials. “Each session was extensive, with opportunities for us to question the OC and government to provide feedback. A series of action items have been identified and will be summarised in the commission’s final report,” said Sealy.

“It was certainly helpful to have the representatives of the Commonwealth Games Associations, who will bring their athletes to Delhi as part of this CoCom. Each of them has vast experience of what are the specific needs of their athletes and teams during the lead-in and competition period.”