Time’s short, so talk less, work more, says Games chief

The Commonwealth Games Federation on Monday delivered a loud and clear message about the state of Delhi’s preparedness to host the 2010 edition. Fennell maintained there was no plan to shift the games to another nation.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) on Monday delivered a loud and clear message about the state of Delhi’s preparedness to host the 2010 edition.

HT Image

“It is not time to debate what needs to be done, but time is now to recommend to do what is recommended and get done with it,” CGF chief Michael Fennell told the media.

He spelt out a host of measures to address Delhi’s deficiencies, while maintaining that it did not mean taking over the preparations from the games’s Organising Committee (OC).

First, an independent technical review panel is being set up. This will meet each month and monitor progress of different projects. “The panel will start functioning from January and will report monthly to all stakeholders: the PMO, Delhi government, OC, CGF and media,” said Fennell.

Second: the Commonwealth Games Coordination Committee will “continue to visit Delhi...to address all key issues across all operational areas”.

Third, international experts with “big-games” experience are being appointed for key areas such as the games village, venues, transport and ticketing.

Fennell maintained there was no plan to shift the games to another nation. “Plan A and plan B remains Delhi only,” he said.