CWG: PM steps in; calls Gill, Reddy for meeting

With the build-up to the Commonwealth Games going from bad to worse, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called a meeting with Sports Minister M S Gill and Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy here today to discuss the troubled preparations for the October 3 to 14 event.

Singh will meet Gill and Reddy, who heads the Group of Ministers overseeing the Games' preparations, here this evening in the face of the mounting international criticism of the country's preparedness to hold the event, sources in the Prime Minister's Office said.

The meeting comes two days after international delegates lambasted the Games Village as "filthy and uninhabitable" and top teams such as Canada, Scotland and New Zealand delayed their departure to the Indian capital.

The Games' build-up has been nothing short of disaster which has only grown in proportion ever since allegations of corruption first came out.

Apart from accusations of inefficiency, the Organising Committee and the government have also been left embarrassed by the collapse of a foot over-bridge near the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, which is the main venue for the mega-event.

The first multi-sport international event being held in India since the 1982 Asian Games threatens to become a national embarrassment with several top athletes already pulling out  and some more adopting a wait-and-watch policy before taking a final call.