Incessant showers, swelling Yamuna have wrecked Delhi govt's preparations for CWG
Incessant showers, swelling Yamuna have wrecked Delhi govt's preparations for CWG
The skies couldn't have opened up at a more inappropriate time for the embattled Chief Minister of Delhi.
Sheila Dikshit might have been dancing with Palash Sen & Co. on the tunes of a Games anthem for the national capital but she knows that she will not be able to keep her promise to Delhiites. 
MASS DESTRUCTION: A road cave-in at the Kasturba Gandhi Marg in
New Delhi. Pic/mid day
Last month when the rains were pouring down hard, the Chief Minister told zealous journalists that they should not read too much into the traffic jams and the dug up roads. "We have set the deadline as August 31, so wait at least till then," Sheila had said.
However, what transpired at a Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting on Thursday regarding the Commonwealth Games might not bring good tidings for the Delhi Chief Minister.
In fact, the PWD Minister and the Delhi Mayor both admitted that the incessant rains in the city and the continuous rising Yamuna have pushed back the preparations for the Games at least by ten days.
Delhi PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan and City Mayor PR Sawhney confirmed that the rain gods have played spoilsport with the city's preparations.
" It is true. But the city has witnessed unprecedented rains in the past few days. The city has not witnessed this kind of rains in the pastu00a0 10-15 years," said PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan who is in charge of all the important Games-related projects of the Delhi government.u00a0
Now what is the government going to do?u00a0 "Let's hope there are no more rains. We can do only one thing. We will speed up the work and try to finish it as soon as possible," added Chauhan. But the minister categorically refused setting any other deadline.
City Mayor PR Sawhney - who is largely responsible for the streetscaping and beautification works, said: "We have completed most of the projects. But those tasks that are still underway have got delayed due to digging work being undertaken by some agencies. But it is beyond anybody's control. This year we have seen record breaking rains in the city," said Sawhney.u00a0u00a0
"But you will have to take this into account that we are not responsible for the delays. If agencies are not through with their digging work, how can we start with beautification? We have to face a delay of at least 10-12 days," the Mayor added.
It is not just the delays that the city government is staring at. In fact, intermittent showers have destroyed some new roads and pavements across the city.
"Not just the key projects. The landscaping done all around has been destroyed. Most of the works that are on involves landscaping and beautification. They all have been delayed or advesely affected," said a senior PWD official.
An engineer with PWDu00a0 told MiD DAY: "If landscaping or any construction is done on a wet surface it won't last long."u00a0
The city witnessed devastating scenes on Wednesday when Yamuna water entered the Ring road, the city's lifeline.
Drainage system on majority of the roads has failed and needs repair.
TROUBLE SPOTS
*u00a0Carpeting work and erecting crash barriers on the Barapullah nullah project.
* Carpeting of roads connecting games venues.
* Construction of underpass at Apsara border crossing.
* Widening of the Ghazipur crossing-Apsara Border road and UP Link Road.
* Beautification works in Karol Bag and Connaught Place.u00a0
ANTHEM OUT
After much delay, A R Rahman will unveil the theme song for the Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
The OC officials said the double Oscar winning music director will be performing the song "Oh yaaro, India bula liya" on Saturday. However, the venue for the event has not yet been finalised. The song has been composed and sung by Rahman.
IGNORANCE IS BLISS
Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi seems to be too busy sorting out the charges of corruption against his team. Emerging out of a Group of Ministers meeting on Thursday
when he was asked whether the Games venues were ready or not, he said: "You will have to ask the Sports Minister. I can't comment on that."
The Group of Ministers met in Delhi to discuss the opening and closing ceremonies and installation of the much-delayed overlays at the event's venues.
The meeting of the GOM, headed by union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy, was also attended by Sports Minister M S Gill, Tourism Minister Shailja, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and CWG Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi among others
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