England Chef de Mission describes CWG accomodation as ‘dangerous’
September 23rd, 2010 - 1:18 pm ICT by ANILondon/New Delhi, Sept.23 (ANI): Craig Hunter, England’s Chef de Mission for the XIXth Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi from October 3 to 14, has described some of the accommodation for the competitors as “dangerous”.
While Team England chairman Sir Andrew Foster said the athletes remained “intent on going”, Hunter told Sky News that the accommodation for England’s athletes was “in the best shape of the teams here” - but he had concerns for other competitors.
He said: “We looked in some towers today… There is no plaster on the walls, they are deep in water and extremely uninhabitable and quite dangerous in many respects. We still have a window of opportunity, but early next week it’s crunch time.”
“We have to have accommodation available for our athletes so they can prepare for a major sporting event. They have been planning for this for a long time and need to be assured that there is a safe and secure environment,” he added.
A Commonwealth Games England statement said: “Urgent action will be taken to address the significant operational issues which exist”.
Mike Fennell - the Games’ federation chief - announced he was travelling to the Indian capital for emergency talks.
Sir Thomas Harris of the UK India Business Council argued that the damage to India’s reputation caused by the crisis would only be temporary.
“It’s very embarrassing for the Indians… but I think this is not typical of India. There are plenty of examples in India of world-class investment projects going ahead,” he said. (ANI)
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