It's exactly a year for the Commonwealth Games to kick off. And both Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who beamed confidently when the last edition of the event got over at Melbourne, and her Delhi Cabinet are now showing signs of nervousness. There are enough reasons: many projects under the Delhi government and other civic agencies are lagging behind.
A look at how the hurdle race is going on:
FLYOVERS
* The Delhi government has been on an overdrive to build flyovers but it is going to be a close race. The Barapullah Nullah project, which will connect the Games Village in East Delhi with the main competition venue at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, is only 43 per cent complete till now. The project started quite late after objections from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
* Ring Road bypass, the main connecter between the Indira Gandhi stadium and Velodrome Road to Salimgarh Fort, is 26 per cent complete. It was rejected twice by the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC) and construction started only by October, after Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna overruled the DUAC decision.
* UP Link Road close to the Games Village is 14 per cent complete due to a legal wrangle between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh governments. UP has refused to give up claim on 21 acres essential for the project.
TRAINING VENUES
* Ludlow Castle stadium, the training venue for wrestling, is merely 20 per cent complete. The Public Works Department (PWD) was supposed to finish the project by November this year.
... contd.
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