CGF slams Games Village, terms it "filthy and uninhabitable"

New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI) In yet another embarrassment to
the organisers less than two weeks before the Commonwealth
Games, the CGF today termed the Athletes Village "filthy and
uninhabitable" and gave OC two days time to sort out the mess.
The OC, however, shrugged of the criticism with its
vice-Chairman Randhir Singh saying the facilities would be
"excellent" for the guests.
Adding to the woes of the organisers, who had faced
corruption allegations in the controversy-marred build-up to
the Games, the CGF chief Michael Fennell today made a scathing
criticism that the Athletes' Village was "seriously
compromised".
Fennell shot off a letter to Cabinet Secretary K M
Chandrasekhar, asking him to take immediate steps to fix the
deficiencies in residential zone of the Village, which he said
has "shocked" advance parties from New Zealand, Canada,
Scotland and Ireland because of its unhygienic condition.
"The final preparations for the Games Village have been
of concern to the CGF since viewing the residential zone along
with a number of Commonwealth Games Associations advance
parties on September 15," Fennel said in a strongly-worded
statement.
"Many issues remain unresolved and as such last night I
wrote to the Indian Cabinet Secretary, expressing my great
concern with the preparedness of Athletes Village. The
condition of residential zone has shocked the majority of CGAs
that are in Delhi. 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," he
said.
"The CGF has asked the Cabinet Secretary to immediately
deploy the necessary resources to fix all the outstanding
issues to an acceptable level," Fennell added.
With just 12 days to go for the sporting extravaganza,
the CGF chief has expressed doubts over the state of what he
called a "seriously compromised" Games Village.
"The Village is the cornerstone of any Games and the
athletes deserve the best possible environment to prepare for
their competition.
"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," Fennell
said.
CGF Chief Executive Mike Hooper echoed similar sentiments
and termed the Athletes Village as "filthy and uninhabitable".
He, however, hoped that with Fennell's intervention, the mess
would be sorted out in the next two days. MORE PTI SSC
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