Mini-marathon organised for speeding up Games’ works

The Citizen Forum For Commonwealth Games organised a “mini-marathon” here on Sunday demanding that public money not be wasted and that preparations for the grand event be speeded up.


Led by former Union Minister Vijay Goel, a large number of people including sportsmen took part in the event.
Responsibility

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Goel said people wanted to know who was responsible for the delay in preparations for the Games, which also led to escalation in the construction cost. He said the infighting among various government agencies and bad handling of the event wound dent the country’s image.

Mr. Goel said developed countries had their general city infrastructure in place and they worked on the sports infrastructure once an announcement for conduct of the Games was made. “However, the State Government is planning to develop the entire city infrastructure, including roads, flyovers, transport, hospitals and hotels on the pretext of the event,” he said, asking about the steps taken in this direction during the past 10 years.

Alleging that there were widespread irregularities in spending, Mr. Goel demanded a white paper on how the funds were being spent on various Games-related projects.

“How the budget of the Games has increased three-fold?, Who will be held responsible for the delays? And what is the timeframe for preparations for the Games? All of this the Government will have to answer for,” said Mr. Goel, asking why there was no legacy plan for the Games to ascertain ways to use the infrastructure after the event.


BJP leader Vijay Goel along with party leaders Chetan Chauhan and Vijay Jolly during a run in New Delhi on Sunday to expedite the preparations for the Commonwealth Games.