Despite the last minute crisis and hangama centering around the decision making as well as implementing circles the Commonwealth Games is on with India hosting it. It costs us by the official total budget allocations worth Rs 11,494 crore or US$ 2.5 billion apart from non sports related infrastructure development in the city such as airports, city beautification and roads. According to Business Today magazine the Games cost exceeded orginally expected Rs 70000 crore or US $ 15.47 billion. This Game will be the most expensive Commonwealth Games so far.
Asoke K. Laha,
President & MD,
Interra IT
The big event had been clouded over by sensitive angry issues like possible terrorist attacks, sex slavery, labour violations and exploitations, racism and unprecedented corruption charges. The media did not play shy of highlighting "filthy unlivable conditions" in and around the venue. There was a collapse of a footbridge killing 27 and seriously injuring 5 in September. A stadium false ceiling had partial collapse though nobody was killed.
According to a report by the Central Vigilance Commission showing irregularities in upto 14 CWG projects covering 129 works in 79 organisations following highlights emerged:
1. Complete lack of involvement of the city and the community at large
2. Awards of work contracts at higher prices
3. Poor quality assurance and management
4. Award of work contracts to questionable ineligible agencies
Surprisingly very expensive items were hired only for 45 days at prices far above what it would cost to buy them just onetime. Security was flouted by an Australian cable TV network crew who claimed to have bypassed the police while carrying a dummy bomb and detonator in their baggage. Most damagingly The Daily Telegraph UK showed rampant child labour used on the site.
Let us for the moment veer round to the sports scene in our innermost regions of the country. Peles Maradonas and Beckhams aplenty are in need of footballs or other sports gears, good playgrounds, coaching and minimum nourishing food and healthcare necessary for developing talents. Even a 10% of this amount could go well to help them show up at national or international platform. With a per capita income of US $ 1030 and 129th world ranking India is struggling hard to keep her head out of oceans of poverty and neglect. Yes there is a growing segment of middle class in western and developed nation's terms which is why world investment and products salivate at the thought of our Desi market but there are very significant ominous realities at the other end of the spectrum.
No Indian would object playing important role in global stage and showing Mother India's head high up into the sky. At the same time it looks demeaning to see ourselves ridiculed by the same foreigners and developed powers whom we are trying to impress to the hilt.
Mahatma Gandhi joined the Round Table in England and to the utter shock and disdain of Churchill wore the same loincloth which he wore always because it represented his country's farmers. He even saw the His Majesty The King in same dress. Chairman Mao liked to receive his celebrities and powerful foreign guests in his small cottage besides a small swimming pool in either slippers and Chinese dressing gown or at the most the standard national Mao suit.
One really wonders whether these men were slobs or were fond of PR gimmicks or did these people had some method in their madness and wanted to speak in their own languages as opposed to the language the outside world tried to impose on them.
Gandhi and Mao were revolutionaries and they loved their principles and nations. They laid stress on human values and detested waste exploitation and false show of grandeur.
It is sad to feel how very deep we have cremated them into textbooks of history and our dormant subconscious.
