A senior official of the world athletics body (IAAF) has expressed shock over the delay in completing the renovation work at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the venue for athletics events besides the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games.
The official, Bill Bailey, an IAAF council member as well as a technical delegate for the 2010 CWG, said in a letter to sports authorities here that he was shocked to see the state of the stadium during a recent visit. Bailey’s concerns highlighted the growing frustration over the preparations for the mega event.
"During my stay in Delhi, I took the opportunity to visit the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium to see how the renovation work was progressing," Bailey, an experienced sports administrator, wrote. "I was surprised - even shocked - to see the state of the stadium. I am extremely concerned about the amount of work yet to be completed and the short timeframe in which it has to be done.
"With the recent completion of several other Commonwealth Games venues, I do hope that a concentrated effort can now be made to ensure that the completed stadium can be delivered before mid-June 2010," wrote Bailey, who was in the Capital in January end in connection with a three-day workshop conducted by the Athletics Federation of India, where he was one of the main resource persons.
Bailey also wrote that the technical officials for athletics for the Games were also planning onsite training session in mid-June and a test event in late July. "Obviously for maximum benefit, we will need to have access to the completed stadium for these activities."
A senior official of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), when contacted, insisted that the stadium would be ready by June-end. "The work is on track and we will cent per cent make the stadium ready for competitions by June 30th, which is the deadline," special officer (infrastructure) for Commonwealth Games, Hardip Singh Kingra told TOI. "In the past people had also raised concerns over the shooting range, but we delivered it on time."
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