Preparation for the Commonwealth Games

For those of you here you know the plans have been on the cards for a few years now. For those of you tapping in from abroad Delhi is hosting the Commonwealth Games in October and preparations have been steadily progressing but now with just over a month to go they are reaching fever pitch.

There are so many stories about this, Sonia calling for all those involved in dirty dealings to be held to account,Kalmadi calling for a probe post Games, Sheila Dikshit calling for a positive attitude towards the Games and people talking, talking, talking all the time. Will they get everything done, will they succeed, was there corruption ?

My personal view is that India needed these Commonwealth Games like a hole in the head. The country has SO much more important stuff to be getting on with but even if this is job creation, there are still choices to be made there and painting the underside of an overpass would simply not be mine.

The slum near Vasant Vihar has recently seen bulldozers nearby. So where will these people go if they are turfed out of their modest houses ?

Roads, pavements and roundabouts in central Delhi are receiving quick-fix makeovers. There could have been a wonderful documentary about this with BEFORE and AFTER pictures and there is a lot of the AFTER which is significantly better but it is just for the sake of the Games. The roads where the athletes will be travelling down will even have a special lane on which they can speed to the venues instead of experiencing the joys of Delhi traffic. Meanwhile if you do not live down a road which is en route to a venue well, tough luck, and like me you are likely to be negotiating this, with a little bit of that thrown in for good measure.

What are your feelings about the Games ? Proud to have them or money wasting ?  Good for the country and a question of national pride ? Time for an enforced holiday or going for 100% attendance ?