Foreign athletes pour in; African nations frown at CWG Village (Intro Night Lead)

NEW DELHI - The biggest group of foreign athletes and officials arrived here Sunday for the Commonwealth Games but complaints against conditions in the Games Village continued following the presence of a snake and prowling stray dogs in the area - with the African group giving the organisers till Monday evening to get their act together.

There was another hiccup on the organisational front as the security agencies could not complete the lockdown of all the venues and the Village with work still in progress at some of the sites.

The day also saw a flip-flop by Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Mike Hooper. He criticised the Indian government for the delay in infrastructure projects - only to later take back his words.

There were also pull outs. Australian Cyclist Travis Meyer and table tennis player Stephanie Sang withdrew citing security and health concerns.

On the brighter side, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the Rs.700 million ($15 million) sports injuries centre in the Safdarjung Hospital which will cater to sportspersons during the Games, and Swimmers Ashley Callus of Australia and England’s Jenna Randall said they will definitely travel to New Delhi and the problems related to the Games have not had a negative impact on them.

Nearly 1,100 athletes and team officials, from Norfolk Islands, Canada, Kenya, Nigeria, Scotland, Canada, Tanzania, Lesotho, Rwanda, Wales, England, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Bermuda, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the British Virgin Islands arrived here Sunday for the Oct 3-14 games.

The biggest delegations that arrived were from Kenya (112), Nigeria (69) and Scotland (60). The other arrivals were from countries like Canada, Tanzania, Lesotho, Norfolk Island, Rwanda, Wales, England, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Bermuda, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the British Virgin Islands, a press statement from the Organising Committee said.

Diplomats of several Africa’s Commonwealth nations Sunday said there was some improvement in the facilities for their players in the Village, but they will take a final decision on their teams’ full-strength arrival only after another inspection Monday evening.

The snake was found Sunday in a room allotted to the South African contingent prompting the country’s High Commissioner Harris Mbulelo Mejeke to declare the athletes will not stay in the Village until everything is put in place.

“A snake can be a threat to the lives of our athletes. Very disappointing. Basically, the basement was full of water and the staircase was also damp. If snakes are found we can’t ask our athletes to stay in such dangerous situations,” Mejeke told reporters.

Officials from Trinidad and Tobago praised the facilities at the Village though their team would stay in hotels till completion of remaining works.

“The facilities are excellent, but there is still a lot of work to do. That is the reason why we have opted to stay in hotels rather than the Village. This is very much similar to a big Indian wedding. But what bothers us are the mosquitoes. There is a fear of dengue,” said John Melow, a team official.

A Scottish team official said stray dogs continue to pose a danger to the athletes in the Village.

“We have never seen stray dogs in any other Games Village. This is very strange for us and it poses a threat for the athletes as well,” the official said.

Some 7,000 participants and officials from 71 teams are expected to attend the Commonwealth Games, India’s biggest sporting event since the 1982 Asian Games.