Prime Minister to visit Games village

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New Delhi, Sep 9 – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit the Commonwealth Games village Tuesday to see for himself that everything is in order.

The prime minsiter’s visit to the Village — with the Games barely 21 days away — comes in the wake of apprehensions expressed over its readiness as the first contingent of officials and athletes from 71 participating teams is expected to arrive Sep 16.

A government source said the prime minister is reviewing the entire Games preparedness at a high-powered meeting Friday.

The source pointed out though the village will be officially opened Sep 21, it is expected to be fully operational two days after prime minister’s visit, Sep 16.

This is prime minister’s second visit to a Commonwealth Games site. He had earlier inspected the facilities at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies and track and field events, on Aug 29.

After going round the stadium, the prime minister asked officials to ‘redouble their efforts to quickly complete’ the work as people are ‘expecting a spectacular and flawless opening to the Commonwealth Games,’

The Games village has come under closer scrutiny after it was reported that nearby areas, that are on the Yamuna river floodplain, are waterlogged, raising fears of spread of dengue virus that has severely gripped Delhi in the last couple of weeks.

Also, Commonwealth Games Federation chief Michael Fennell pointed out the Games Village as one of concern areas during his last visit to the capital Aug 19. Fennell pointed out that some work at the dining room and the kitchen were behind schedule.

IANS