On the eve of the Queen's Baton Relay (QBR) entering India in its last leg, the Organising Committee (OC) of 2010 Commonwealth Games on Thursday sounded confident of conducting “the best ever Games.” The OC Chairman, Suresh Kalmadi said that everything would be ready for the Games in time.
He was addressing a press conference here as momentum gained for receiving the Queen's Baton at the Wagah-Attari border, near here, on Friday. The entry of the baton coincides with the 100-day countdown for the Games. “All infrastructure, all the 34 functional areas are ready. The media accreditation process has started. Everybody talks about the Beijing (Olympics) opening ceremony, but our opening ceremony will be very colourful. Around two million people will watch it (on television),” Kalmadi said.
Work still to be done
The truth is several venues are far from ready in Delhi. The Jawharlal Nehru Stadium and the Talkatora swimming pool have been well behind schedule and it would require a huge effort to get these venues completed in every respect in time for the Games.
The whole of Delhi has been dug up and continues to be in a mess, leaving everyone wondering whether things would be in place before the Games begin.
Cables and pipes are still being laid; pavements are being re-laid; roads are being widened; flyovers are still under construction; the city's shopping malls are far away from getting the finishing touches; traffic islands are full of rubble; parks are bare; the Games Village is yet to be ready and the organisational machinery is racing against the clock to meet deadlines.
On the proposed journey of the Queen's Baton through the country, Kalmadi said the relay would create interest among the common people for Olympic sports. “Punjab, appropriately, will be the first state to receive the Queen's Baton as it has produced so many sportspersons,” Kalmadi said. He acknowledged Pakistan's support during India's bidding for the Commonwealth Games seven years ago. Amritsar Member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu extended all support for the QBR. “The fear has turned into faith,” he said in his typical
style. Prominent sportspersons like Olympic and World medallist boxer Vijender Singh, four-time World champion boxer M.C. Mary Kom and several dignitaries including Commonwealth Games Federation President Mike Fennel, Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil, Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and some high profile personalities from across the border are expected to witness the arrival of the Queen's Baton in India on Friday. Eminent folk singers of the town, Wadali Brothers, and renowned vocalist from Pakistan Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, who will perform during the function, hoped that the Games would strengthen the bond between the two countries.
Meanwhile, a two-minute silence was observed in memory of the President of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) DigvijaySingh, who passed away in London on Thursday.
