Aussie rampage

Australian athletes, apart from allegedly vandalising Commonwealth games village, took away medicines and devices worth over Rs one crore. Delhi govt had written to the Oz Chef De Mission

Australian athletes, apart from allegedly vandalising Commonwealth games village, took away medicines and devices worth over Rs one crore. Delhi govt had written to the Oz Chef De Mission

They were the ones who had been making the maximum noise in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games 2010. From casting aspersions on the security arrangements to mosquitoes breeding in the Games village, the Australian authorities had their magnifying glasses on, all through.


Bidding Adieu: Aussie athletes also allegedly took away a large number
of rehabilitation kits and painkillers from stadiums and training venues.
representative pic

But it seems even 74 Gold Medals did not satiate the appetite of the Aussie athletes. Therefore, as a compensation for the stress during the struggle to garner a total 177 medals in the Games, they took away medicines and devices worth over Rs 1 crore from the Commonwealth Games village.

Plunderers
The Oz players had also been accused of rampaging the village during their celebrations after the Games, when they allegedly threw a refrigerator from the eighth floor.As per the estimates by Delhi's Directorate of Health Services (DHS), medicines and devices worth Rs 1.18 crore went missing from the medical centre at the Games village.

Highly-placed sources in the DHS told MiD DAY that these "missing" items were indeed taken away by the athletes from the village. They also pointed out that the majority of these items were taken away by the Australian athletes and some by players belonging to African countries.
Some devices also went missing from training centres.

Devices and Cost
The medicines and equipment include an automated external Defibrillators (AED), Rehabilitation kits, pain killer sprays, Volini and Coolex sprays.An automated external defibrillator (AED) is used in cases of life threatening cardiac arrhythmias which lead to cardiac arrest. It is basically used at the time of emergency to provide life support to the persons who are at the verge of death.

The cost of one AED is around Rs 1, 50,000 to 2, 00,000. A total of three such equipment were missing from the stadiums and training venues. A large number of rehabilitation kits and painkillers were also taken away from stadiums and training venues. Rehabilitation kits are designed to specifically exercise a certain joint or area of the body. The kit includes a knee cap, waist strap, silica gel packs and other essential things required for the exercise of a body.

A Rehabilitation kit costs between Rs. 300- 400. The officials say every player took away two such kits with him/her."Around 13,000- 14,000 of such rehabilitation kits and pain killer sprays are missing," said a senior Organising Committee (OC) official, requesting anonymity.

"The players were provided with plenty of medicines, including crepe bandages, pain killer sprays and knee caps, yet they picked up consumable medicines and devices from the Games village and venues," said another DHS official.

Official Communique
The Delhi government had in fact taken up the issue with the Chef De Mission concerned and written to them regarding missing medical devices.Refusing to name Australia, Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia confirmed to MiD DAY that the state government had indeed written to the Chef De Mission of "some countries"

"Two of them (AED) have been returned. But, we are waiting for the third one to come back," Dr Walia told MiD DAY."I cannot comment on it as I am not aware of any such issue," said Lalit Bhanot, Secretary General, Organising Committee.

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