Offtrack

Take Kalmadi’s word for weigh-in units
Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi,who is already facing a lot of criticism for various glitches in the first two days of the Games,has dubbed reports of faulty weigh-in machines for boxing as “untrue” and stated that he would rather look into the other complaints. Athletes from some countries,including Australia,had complained that the weigh-in machines at the Games Village were faulty as they were depicting boxers as heavier than they actually are. Games Federation chief Mike Fennell,for his part,said that though the athletics track at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium had been damaged during the opening ceremony,the problem has been rectified. Catering company Ricks Aylatt also trashed reports of Australian swimmer Robert Hurley suffering food poisoning at the Games Village. “We conducted tests on 700 food samples but found nothing,” he said. But is the Games kitchen responsible for the boxers weighing more? It remains to be seen.

The problem with Village loos
A new problem has cropped up at the Games Village,something that officials blame poor planning on the part of the developer for. Apparently,the small outlets of the Village toilets are too small to let good quality toilet paper through — resulting in them getting clogged. Workers say that it takes hours to clean up the clogged toilets,which are not able to accommodate “thicker toilet paper,unlike the thin ones normally used in India”.

Spill beans on worker details,says court
Taking a grim view of the deaths of workers employed at Commonwealth Games sites,the Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed all principal employers to furnish reports on the incidents,detailing the causes as well as action taken against those found errant. The Division Bench,headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra,also asked the Labour department of the Delhi government to take action against the contractors who had failed to provide details about workers at various sites. The court noted that while 17,000 applications for the registration of workers had reportedly been received by the department,only 4,000 had been registered so far. It directed the regional labour commissioner to take action against the contractors if they fail to provide the details of labourers soon. The court had taken into consideration the findings of a report that pointed out human rights violations against labourers involved in Games-related work.

Chaat,BBQ food on kitchen cards
Soon,athletes and delegates staying at the Commonwealth Games Village would get to savour the taste of chaat-papri and gol-gappas made with mineral water. While these items will be introduced shortly,officials said there could be a delay in introducing the barbecue owing to security and safety concerns about the temporary structure that would have to be set up for the purpose. Questions have also been raised over the use of LPG cylinders for the open barbecue,as they have not been permitted inside the Village so far. However,officials said they would soon find a solution for the problem. And what’s more,colder Indian delicacies are also in the offing for foreign participants to relish!

Not alarming enough
Here’s an example of the Delhi Police’s mush touted “preparedness”. A siren,just 500 metres from Talkatora Stadium,a major Common Wealth Games venue,went off at 7.20 pm,but took over an hour to evoke a response from the police. The noise from the siren at the Bank of India,located on the premises of Swati Working Womens’ hostel at Mandir Marg,was enough to bring in the hostellers and local residents,but not loud enough for the local police. from 7.25 pm,Amita,a former hostel warden staying on the premises,started calling the local police station and SHO Ramesh Chander. “I made several calls myself,but to no avail,” she said. The alarm kept blaring for over an hour. Around 8.20 pm,the SHO finally came in and after a quick check claimed the alarm could have gone off due to a short-circuit. “I don’t know. We were busy with Commonwealth Games,” he added,before his men disconnected the alarm,restoring silence to the area.

Curated For You

Dhurandhar Box Office Collection Worldwide Day 24 Update: RGV says Ranveer Singh film has ‘kicked out South Indian movies’; earns over Rs 1100 cr worldwide

Rajesh Khanna stood in line for a public toilet with a dabba; it gave him his last hit; Dimple Kapadia called his state ‘pathetic’

‘They called him Chinese and momo, he said he’s from Tripura’: In Dehradun, racial attack snuffs out young life