Commonwealth Games venues crumble to winds and rain

Cost and time overruns have meant that Commonwealth Games venues have seen shoddy completion work, resulting in complete chaos on the ground in various stadia dotting the city landscape.

Despite large dollops of public spending on building out the stadia infrastructure, at last count, by the government’s own admission - Rs. 10,550 crore - has been spent. As recently as July 7, an internal weekly status report on five top venues has revealed that even after the inauguration of many venues, they are far from ready.

While it is practically impossible to get inside these stadia, investigations has probed that walls are peeling off due to seepage, roof tiles are collapsing, ceilings are leaking like a sieve, water logging is common and a general slipshod quality of work has impacted some of the principal venues.

Both at Talkatora Indoor Stadium and Yamuna sports complex, the cracks are showing. Talkatora is expected to host the boxing event in 11 weight categories ranging from light flyweight to super heavyweight. Similarly at Yamuna, the table tennis competition will take place.

Two days of downpour and strong winds have meant a panic like situation.

Kavas Kapadia, Dean School of Planning and Architecture says, “The roofs are flying off. The infrastructure is already crumbling, they cannot finish the work. The tearing hurry in which things are being done will lead to a greater mess.” Within minutes of steady rain, workers informed that leaks spring up all over the place. Wherever air conditioners were to be installed, there are gaping holes greeting everyone. During the first round of showers, the false ceiling had collapsed and it will take at least a fortnight to fix that alone.

Worse still, costs are escalating all the time. And the tax payers are paying for all the cost overruns.

The Yamuna Sports Complex will only be completed by early September, hardly days before the inauguration of the multi disciplinary event. The stadium was to have been completed seven months ago.

High voltage wires dangle dangerously, waiting to touch the water that has seeped in due to the rains, making it a lethal combination. Jamal Ansari, a prominent town planner says, “The rains are here, the cement lying around will flow into the drains, mix with water and harden.

“Kerb stones and other civic infrastructure that is being built out is suffering.

Haste is making waste all around.” Cassandras will shout from the roof tops that they told you so. Yes, the commonwealth of the hoi polloi of Delhi and India has been washed down the drain with the wind and rain.