Delhi:Pray ! It Doesn't Rain During Commonwealth Games

If you love your nation and are looking forward to the largest sporting event Commonwealth Games that it is getting ready to host. I have one serious piece of advice for you – pray. Given the awful state of preparedness, be it venues, catering, athletes village, even the general infrastructure, you would imagine I want you to pray for all these. But no, I want your prayers directed towards something more specific – rains, or no rains, to be precise.

Those who live in Delhi and know what the hugely spoilt (in terms of funds spent) city turns into when it rains, would know what I am saying. A slight drizzle is enough to turn the city into Venice. But if that is bad, my fear is it will be a lot worse if it rains during the event. The fear is borne more out of what I have noticed the past few days.

It so happened that the cycling group we have here decided to ride through Delhi zones where commonwealth games preparations are on. These include venues and roads that take one to the various venues, which basically means the whole of Delhi. The advantage, and disadvantage, of riding is that at these relatively slower speeds, you get to absorb a lot more details. Of course, the ability to stop and look closely is something that no other mode of transport can offer. It is what we have seen during these rides that has me alarmed.

If earlier, all that clogged the rain water exits were plastic bottles and polythene and the roadside garbage that the sweeper would nonchalantly shove into the opening, it is much worse now. All the wasted construction material and rubble from dismantled structures is not only clogging every orifice available, but in some places where excavated earth still lies strewn around, even the main drains have disappeared, drowned in the mountain of rubble. Imagine spanking new roads and sidewalks with openings that look like leading to storm-water drains, but blocked, and completely. If you think those entrusted with the task of finishing it will ensure the mess inside is cleared before covering it up, you are mistaken. We have seen this exercise, called desilting, year after year, with the same shocking results. The situation this time around would be worse.

The tell-tale signs can be seen all over. In the VVIP New Delhi zone, almost every sidewalk that was already in prim condition has been ripped apart. What’s more, the ripped apart portions had reflective paint and that has been replaced with far more expensive, red sandstone that looks great, but is invisible at night. Even other areas where expensive ‘streetscaping’ is happening in the name of CWG beautification, there is chaos with newly laid tiles already coming off. I am sure they will be put back before the games, but at what cost? Remember, it is you and I who are paying for the shoddy quality being dished out by the government agencies and their private contractors.

Not for nothing are our project management skills rated abysmally low. The copious amount of money being spent on games related projects is not funny. It has already been debated how the delays are deliberate so that there is no option but to declare an emergency and release ‘no questions asked’ funds to complete the projects on time. Where these funds will go is well-known.

You know that the new airport terminal at Delhi is to be thrown open next month. The company that operates the airport recently conducted a several-days long religious function to please the Gods and Goddesses so that nothing goes wrong with their project. They clearly were worried, for a lot of things they have done since taking over the management of the airport hasn’t gone as planned, thanks to poor project management skills again. If you remember, they built a new runway but forgot to build a drain around it and realised it only when it rained and the runway got flooded. Even the new domestic terminal they built had its roof blown away a few days after it was thrown open.

If gods, after the religious function, help and ensure nothing as embarrassing happens in future for the airport operator, it means if we pray hard enough, they will also ensure even the rains don’t play spoilsport during the games.

And along with that, if some of you would want to file RTI applications with the concerned authorities on what are the terms and conditions on which the ‘beautification’ work was granted, what quality parameters has the contractor been asked to adhere to, who is the person responsible for ensuring these are being adhered to, and so on, I think it will keep the government on its toes. Relying on gods is great, but we can’t stop doing our bit. Can we?

Source:TOI(Rajesh Kalra)