Indian PM tours games venue:

Urged to overcome delays

INDIA: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday inspected venues in New Delhi where the Commonwealth Games will be held in October, urging organizers to overcome delays that threaten to ruin the event.

Many sports facilities have yet to be completed 35 days before the Games begin, while new roads, flyovers and metro lines are also behind schedule amid allegations of corruption and mismanagement.

Singh urged authorities “to redouble their efforts to quickly complete whatever works remained as the people were expecting a spectacular and flawless opening to the Commonwealth Games,” a statement from his office said.

He visited the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, where renovation work is still underway to prepare for the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics events.

An anti-corruption body earlier this month found a host of problems with construction projects, including the use of poor-quality materials, allegations of fake building safety certificates and financial kickbacks.

New Delhi’s Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit admitted that confusion over who was responsible for preparation of the Games had caused many delays.

“There is a terrible problem of multiplicity of authority,” she said in comments broadcast by CNN-IBN television station on Sunday.

New Delhi, Monday, AFP