Back for the first time since letter,CGF chief meets Gill

Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell met Sports Minister MS Gill on Wednesday and discussed the work progress for the 2010 event.

Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell met Sports Minister MS Gill on Wednesday and discussed the work progress for the 2010 event. Fennell,who arrived in the Capital late on Tuesday night to attend the Commonwealth Games Federations general assembly beginning on Thursday,went to the ministers residence in the evening and reportedly conveyed his concerns.

I had an hour-long meeting with him (Fennell) and both of us had the same approach to the issues, Gill said after the meeting.

This was Fennells first visit to India after he wrote a letter last month,criticising the Suresh Kalmadi-led Organising Committee and fearing that Games could be a partial failure if there wasnt an overhaul of the management. He had also sought a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss a recovery plan.

Asked if Fennell was still going to meet the Prime Minster,Gill said: The Prime Minister has given me the responsibility,but if he still wants to meet the PM,he can.

On Tuesday,Prime Minister Singh had held a meeting with the Sports Minister as well as Delhi s Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Planning Commission chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and inquired about the status of the preparations. He had also directed the sports ministry to fine-tune coordination among various agencies involved in completing the Games projects.

On Thursday,Fennell will lead the CGF General Assembly delegates on tours of the Games venues and Village. He will also chair a meeting of the executive board on October 11 and the general assembly the following day.

Delegates satisfied

Meanwhile,amid an unprecedented security cover,110 delegates from 71 Commonwealth Games Associations assembled at the Ashoka Hotel in Chanakyapuri to take part in the five-day affair.

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They are set to visit the venues over the next two days and the Delhi Police have already issued a traffic advisory,saying that they will block some key routes for the smooth passage of the delegates. Not surprisingly,many of them looked satisfied with arrangements thus far. We are already enjoying the stay in Delhi . All things here are well organised,from transport to accommodation. I am really excited to see Delhi hosting the Commonwealth Games, said a delegate from Lesotho.

A few others said they would prefer to wait and watch. We are going to have a contingent of 350 Athleteswe are waiting to see OCs planning in the general assembly so that in turn we can plan our strategies for the Games, said Scott Stevenson. Milton Brodley from the Norfolk Islands said,I am hoping for the best but there are issues. I hope that right vision will be achieved.