When India won the bid for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in November 2003, there were seven long years for the event—enough time, it was argued, to put things in place for a flawless show. Now, with less than a year to go, things aren’t looking so rosy. While the run-up to any major sporting event, anywhere in the world, inevitably involves concerns about meeting deadlines, it’s the extent of the backlog that has seen the organisers of these Games draw flak. Last month, Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell lashed out at the Organising Committee for the sluggish pace of work in a letter that found its way to the media. Fennel even sought a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, hoping his intervention could bring about a sense of urgency. But according to the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the construction at most venues, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies, are well behind schedule with all estimated deadlines set to be missed. The Organising Committee, however, remains confident that everything will be ready in time for the Games. But it was only last month that Committee vice-chairman Randhir Singh said that China’s Guangzhou—which will host the Asian Games one month after the Commonwealth in New Delhi—“is way ahead with its preparations”.

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU STADIUM, Built in 1982,Capacity: 78,000-plus

New capacity: Athletics: 60,000; wrestling: 2,500; lawn bowls: 2,200, Deadline: December 2009, now extended to March 2010

... contd.