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Journalism of Courage
The hype over the Commonwealth Games is not translating into spectators at the venues. The stadiums are running empty,with sportspersons performing just for the cameras. Even at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex,where India won three gold medals,the two tier sea-blue stands were largely empty with just a handful of spectators in the entire stadium.
Many people did not seem to know that weightlifting and lawn bowls contests were on at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium complex,which was packed to the rafters for Sundays opening ceremony. K R Gupta,a retired CPWD official,and wife Savitri came to see the stadium. It looked spectacular and we wanted to visit it. We managed to get a couple of tickets for weightlifting, he said.
I could not manage tickets for the opening ceremony. Today,even the cheaper tickets for the weightlifting event were easily available, said Faridabad-based Amit Goel. His wife Priya,a lecturer,said: The experience of seeing an event in person is different. Having seen this,we are planning to buy tickets for other events too.
While the general stands were nearly empty for the weightlifting event,and barely 15 spectators could be spotted in the Rs 750 ticket section,the VIP area was nearly full. Most of those in the stands were relatives of participants or foreign delegates. For instance,Mark and Allison Sinclair from New Zealand had come to cheer for their son Cameron Sinclair in the 63-kg event. Jaswant Rai and his family came to support distant relative Jasvir Singh,who is representing Canada in the event.
At the Indira Gandhi Stadium even the spectators were feeling embarrassed about the empty stands. Maybe because Greco-Roman style of wrestling is not so popular, reasoned Ashrifullah,a spectator.
The Organising Committee,however,refuses to accept that tickets are not selling. Secretary General Lalit Bhanot said 40 ticket counters have been opened across the city and around 50 per cent of the tickets,worth Rs 20 crore,have been sold so far. At a press conference on Tuesday,Kalmadi said six lakh tickets have been sold so far. It will pick up more. There will be no issues.
Bhanot rubbished reports that the Organising Committee is planning to open the stands for students. It was part of our initial plan to invite under-privileged schoolchildren to watch the Games. What is so wrong about it? he asked.
A senior Delhi government officer said Doordarshan,the official Games broadcaster,has requested that at least government officials be sent in to fill the seats. They are worried as they cant have shots of spectator benches during competitions as the stands are all empty, said the officer. But the government has refused to oblige saying all officers are busy with Games duty.
(With Mandakini Gahlot)
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