Athletes quit Commonwealth Games as criticism mounts

Some countries have effectively given Delhi a few days to clean up the Games village or face the prospect of national withdrawals from an event that has so far only showcased Indian traveller-tale cliches of filth, chaos and corruption.

Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell said yesterday the two-week event, starting October 3, was seriously compromised by filthy conditions at the Games village that have shocked delegations. There have been reports of stray dogs, stagnant water and human faeces being found at the unfinished Games village where the athletes will live. Stagnant pools of water, breeding grounds for Dengue mosquitoes, lie around.

Some four or five accommodation towers at the Games village are still unfinished, lacking facilities such as wireless Internet, fitted toilets and plumbing. Rubble, unused masonry and discarded bricks litter the unfinished gardens.

Triple Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica is the highest profile athlete to skip the event.

World discus champion Dani Samuels of Australia pulled out of the Games because of security and health concerns, as did England's world triple jump champion Phillips Idowu. Four other champions have quit due to various reasons, including injuries, in the last 24 hours.

Dengue epidemic

An epidemic of Dengue, in part blamed on stagnant water around unfinished construction sites, has hit Delhi and hundreds of people have been hospitalised. Many residents are fleeing Delhi during the Games, worried about security and traffic chaos.

Only days after two foreign visitors were shot and wounded by unknown assailants in Delhi, Australian TV broadcast how a reporter bought bomb making devices to smuggle through security points. Indian police denied he ever crossed a checkpoint.

Highlighting how the Games has quickly become a political minefield for a government already reeling under high inflation, officials from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office toured the village.

"It's no state secret, we're concerned," said an official at the prime minister's office, who declined to be named.

Sporting power Australia backed the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday and many venues, including the main Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, have been praised as world-class.

Officials note that other events such as the 2004 Athens Olympics were dogged by problems, but turned out fine.

But Canada's Games team said it might delay the arrival of some of its athletes if adequate accommodation was not available.

New Zealand Olympic Committee officials have arrived in Delhi to inspect facilities and security.

Dismal preparations have, for many, underscored the out-of-touch, slow-paced leadership of Prime Minister Singh and his Congress government, raising questions how a graft-ridden, inefficient state can hope to compete with China.