Commonwealth games

Letter to Editor

Commonwealth Games

Delhi will be staging the next Commonwealth Games in the year 2010. Media, especially Delhi based newspapers are making a misplaced publicity that Delhi will become a global city after the Games. However, the moot question is whether the motto of staging the Commonwealth Games is to improve the standard of sports in the country or improve the infrastructure facilities in Delhi. If the objective is the latter it could have been served by spending half of the amount or even less without staging the Commonwealth Games. After staging such mega sports events, whether we are going to improve our standard of sports and medal tally, nobody knows. Will we be able to win few medals at the 2012 Olympics just two years after staging the Commonwealth Games? The tragedy is that inspite of spending billions of rupees in the name of sports, common man has very little to cheer about during India’s participation in international events.

Delhi the capital city of India should get out of its dubious distinction as the city of road accidents, dacoity, murder, rape, bride burning, kidnapping, lack of civic sense, insensitivity, scams, scandals and last but not least corruption. It is said that in Mumbai, even pick pocketers are gentle to the extent that they will not do any physical harm to their victims and after taking the money they return other valuables like identity card, driving license etc to the owner by courier. Media has to play a major role in changing the mindset of Delhiites, to make it a more livable city, as Delhi has some of the excellent infrastructure facilities (Which is the envy of other Indian Cities) comparable to global standards. Let us not bid for Olympics till we become a force to reckon with at least in the Asian circuit, otherwise we have to see the massacre of the host and swallow the insult, ignominy and humiliation heaped on us by the sports powerhouses of the world

E M Adithyan
20th January 2007

Elangalloor Mana
Edapal 679576
Kerala