THE Commonwealth Games Federation wants immediate action from India to fix what it calls a "seriously compromised" athletes' village in New Delhi.
The federation's demand of the Indian government came as New Zealand's team chief said the Games, due to run from October 3-14, were at risk of being called off because of the ill-prepared state of the athletes' village.
Commonweath Games Federation president Michael Fennell said advance parties from participating nations arriving in the Indian capital had been “shocked” at what they had seen.
“Many issues remain unresolved and as such last night I wrote to the Indian cabinet secretary, expressing my great concern with the preparedness of the athletes village ...,” he 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, as of the afternoon of September 20, the Commonwealth Games Village is seriously compromised.”
New Zealand officials are one of the team delegations already in New Delhi, and officials said dirty and unhealthy conditions at the village were compromising the entire Games.
Chef de mission Dave Currie said large sections of the village were still not ready, with the clock ticking to its official opening on Thursday.
“The reality is that if the village is not ready and athletes can't come, the implications are that it's not going to happen,” Currie told New Zealand commercial radio, referring to the Games as a whole.
“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 warning came after Australian and New Zealand officials pointed to concerns about security following a gun attack in Sunday in the Indian capital.
Fennell said the village was the cornerstone of any Games and athletes deserved the best possible environment to prepare.
“The condition of the residential zone has shocked the majority of Commonwealth Games Associations that are in Delhi,” he said.
“Despite their attempts to work with the Organising Committee in a constructive manner since arriving on September 15, significant operational matters remain unaddressed.”
He said problems had arisen because deadlines for the completion of the village had consistently been missed.
“Now, the high security around the site, while vital, is slowing progress and complicating solutions,” he added.
“Security remains of the utmost importance to the CGF and our advisors continue to monitor the situation. Currently, this matter remains on track.
“However, with the village to be officially opened on September 23, timely acceptable solutions to prepare for the arrival of athletes are of paramount importance.
“The CGF has asked the cabinet secretary to immediately deploy the necessary resources to fix all the outstanding issues to an acceptable level.”
Australian Commonwealth Games Association chief executive Perry Crosswhite is staying in the village, and has told Australia's chef de mission Steve Moneghetti of problems.
“He mentioned to me about the state of the village and the New Zealanders are concerned about the state of some of the finishing and some of the IT services are not quite complete,” Moneghetti told reporters in Melbourne.
Crosswhite was not immediately available for comment but Moneghetti said Indian organisers “have got two days to do what's probably going to take about two weeks”, referring to the looming arrival of athletes.
“When I spoke to Perry yesterday he said there were some furnishings, some problems with the information technology that he was concerned about ... but he didn't seem that concerned about the overall condition of the village itself,” Moneghetti said.
“It's probably not up to western standards ... but hopefully it will be suitable for the athletes.”
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.
New Zealand Olympic Committee president Mike Stanley and secretary-general Barry Maister were travelling to Delhi today.
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 said.
“As the clock ticks down, that becomes more critical.”
The federation's demand of the Indian government came as New Zealand's team chief said the Games, due to run from October 3-14, were at risk of being called off because of the ill-prepared state of the athletes' village.
Commonweath Games Federation president Michael Fennell said advance parties from participating nations arriving in the Indian capital had been “shocked” at what they had seen.
“Many issues remain unresolved and as such last night I wrote to the Indian cabinet secretary, expressing my great concern with the preparedness of the athletes village ...,” he 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, as of the afternoon of September 20, the Commonwealth Games Village is seriously compromised.”
New Zealand officials are one of the team delegations already in New Delhi, and officials said dirty and unhealthy conditions at the village were compromising the entire Games.
Chef de mission Dave Currie said large sections of the village were still not ready, with the clock ticking to its official opening on Thursday.
“The reality is that if the village is not ready and athletes can't come, the implications are that it's not going to happen,” Currie told New Zealand commercial radio, referring to the Games as a whole.
“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 warning came after Australian and New Zealand officials pointed to concerns about security following a gun attack in Sunday in the Indian capital.
Fennell said the village was the cornerstone of any Games and athletes deserved the best possible environment to prepare.
“The condition of the residential zone has shocked the majority of Commonwealth Games Associations that are in Delhi,” he said.
“Despite their attempts to work with the Organising Committee in a constructive manner since arriving on September 15, significant operational matters remain unaddressed.”
He said problems had arisen because deadlines for the completion of the village had consistently been missed.
“Now, the high security around the site, while vital, is slowing progress and complicating solutions,” he added.
“Security remains of the utmost importance to the CGF and our advisors continue to monitor the situation. Currently, this matter remains on track.
“However, with the village to be officially opened on September 23, timely acceptable solutions to prepare for the arrival of athletes are of paramount importance.
“The CGF has asked the cabinet secretary to immediately deploy the necessary resources to fix all the outstanding issues to an acceptable level.”
Australian Commonwealth Games Association chief executive Perry Crosswhite is staying in the village, and has told Australia's chef de mission Steve Moneghetti of problems.
“He mentioned to me about the state of the village and the New Zealanders are concerned about the state of some of the finishing and some of the IT services are not quite complete,” Moneghetti told reporters in Melbourne.
Crosswhite was not immediately available for comment but Moneghetti said Indian organisers “have got two days to do what's probably going to take about two weeks”, referring to the looming arrival of athletes.
“When I spoke to Perry yesterday he said there were some furnishings, some problems with the information technology that he was concerned about ... but he didn't seem that concerned about the overall condition of the village itself,” Moneghetti said.
“It's probably not up to western standards ... but hopefully it will be suitable for the athletes.”
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.
New Zealand Olympic Committee president Mike Stanley and secretary-general Barry Maister were travelling to Delhi today.
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 said.
“As the clock ticks down, that becomes more critical.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment