The Commonwealth Games Village is “absolutely ready” and “for the first time, I am feeling very satisfied”, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said today as the city braced for the mega sporting event starting on Sunday.
Ms. Dikshit, who was tasked last Wednesday to put everything in place in the Village in the wake of complaints of “unlivable conditions”, toured the sprawling 63.5 acre complex that will house the participating sportspersons and declared that “everybody is happy” with the arrangements.
Emphasising that a lot of efforts were put in to improve the conditions, she told PTI that “The Village is absolutely ready. Cleanliness and other aspects are now upto the mark. For the first time I am feeling very satisfied.”
“The Village has reached a stage where there is no complaint. I am feeling happy. Everybody is feeling happy. Most importantly the players are happy,” she said.
The conditions at the Village had come under sharp criticism from the Commonwealth Games Federation which said it was “filthy” and “unlivable“.
Taking cognizance of these complaints, the Prime Minister’s Office last Wednesday directed the Delhi government to take charge of sprucing up the complex which was till then being handled by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) which is controlled by Union Urban Development Ministry.
Ms. Dikshit, who has been personally monitoring the clean-up operation at the Village, said all the lifts in all the 34 towers are now functioning properly and fumigation operation is continuing to prevent dengue—mosquito breeding.
“Everything is perfectly alright at the complex now. The rooms are in perfect shape,” she added.
The city government, since taking control of cleaning, house-keeping and overall maintenance of the complex on last Wednesday, had deployed a workforce of 1,500 people including professionals from five-star hotels.
Earlier, the Chief Minister had apparently blamed the DDA for the mess surrounding the Village.
“We inherited it (the Village) in a very difficult situation. It is improving by almost the hour. We are working very hard (to make things right),” Ms. Dikshit had said.
Ms. Dikshit has also put in place a three-layered mechanism to ensure cleanliness, hygiene and house-keeping as per international standards at the complex.
Under the new set up, professionals from five-star hotels and volunteers from Hotel Association of India will look after cleanliness and maintenance of the rooms in all the 34 towers in the Games Village.
While cleanliness and all other maintenance-related matters outside the rooms like balconies and other areas within the complex have been entrusted to a team of officials from NDMC, the MCD has been directed to look after the areas outside the towers on village premises.
