1 more CWG mishap: Scoreboard collapses

There seems to be no end to Commonwealth Games-related mishaps. After a brief lull, notoriety is back to haunt the sporting event.

There seems to be no end to Commonwealth Games-related mishaps. After a brief lull, notoriety is back to haunt the sporting event.

On Thursday evening, a 25-feet-high electronic scoreboard at the rugby stadium in Delhi University collapsed.
The video matrix LED screen scoreboard was installed at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore. No one was injured in the mishap.

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The incident comes barely four days before matches begin at the venue. The rugby stadium will host matches from October 11 onwards.

The scoreboard collapsed around 6.30 pm on Thursday, when some finishing touches were being given to the peripheral areas of the venue. Soon after the collapse, several paramilitary officials were rushed to the site.

"The electronic scoreboard came down entirely. No one was injured in the incident," said Karnal Singh, joint commissioner of police (northern range). Police said the Organising Committee (OC) has apprised them that they will replace the scoreboard as soon as possible.

"We rushed to the scene to find the scoreboard in pieces. The entire board will have to be replaced now. There was a huge sound when the board came down. Initially, we thought there was an attack or that someone had done some mischief," said a senior police officer.

Security personnel blocked the entrance to the venue and cordoned off the area soon after the collapse. Construction work at the stadium was completed only a day ago.

"The (construction) work was lagging behind other venues. Since it had to host matches from October 11 onwards, they got some more time. It is clear that the work was done in a hurry. It's a major safety issue," said another officer posted at the venue.

Barely seven days ago, during a safety check, it was found that the scoreboard was not functional due to shortage of direct power supply required to check the equipment. Also, the Delhi Police was able to lock down the venue only a day ago, after the stadium was handed over to them.

"As the construction work was not complete, we could not carry out the mandatory security checks. It delayed the lockdown," said the officer.