Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy on Saturday expressed confidence about the country successfully hosting the Commonwealth Games (CWG), beginning on October 3, and said the glitches had now boiled down only to “housekeeping” in the athletes' village in east Delhi.
“I am absolutely confident that we will be able to deliver successful games. The problem has narrowed down to housekeeping in the village. All other venues are in perfect shape. Let us focus on the delivery of the games,” he told journalists on the sidelines of a function here.
Mr. Reddy, who also heads the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), asked the media not to to indulge in “paralysing analysis.”
He said there were 3,000 rooms of star hotel-category in the Games village, more rooms than the rooms of all the star hotels in Delhi combined. “It all boils down to the upkeep of the rooms and toilets.”
Asked about some athletes pulling out of the games, he said, “Usain Bolt [from Jamaica] pulled out three months ago. Individual athletes pulled out for their own reasons. I have no comment to make.”
On Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's travel advisory against India, Mr. Reddy said: “I have no comments on foreign dignitaries.”
Asked if the EGoM on CWG had been wound up, he said: “No. It is there for policy directions.”
The Central government has spent Rs.11,494 crore on the games, while the Delhi government was allocated Rs. 670 crore. In addition, the Delhi government has spent about Rs. 16,000 crore from its own budget for the development of infrastructure in the Capital.
