CYG not so colourful for spectators

8220;We had to walk a distance of two km just to make our way from the parking lot to the gate. To make matters worse, we were then instructed by the police to enter through another gate, which was another kilometre away. We were very disappointed that no bus service has been organised for the general public,8221; said a spectator.

The instructions on the ticket of the Commonwealth Youth Games drew flak. 8220;The ticket says that we can enter and exit from gates 1,2 and 3. But when we were inside the stadium and wanted to exit we were not allowed to exit from either of the gates. The police only confused us and kept giving us wrong information. There were no signboards for our help and we spent an hour just looking for an exit,8221; said Rajesh Uttarwar, another spectator, who felt his Sunday was completely wasted.

8220;I will tell my friends that coming all the way to the Balewadi Sports Complex to see the Commonwealth Youth Games is a waste of time,8221; said Sujit Kurtadikar, a spectator who had come along with his family to watch tennis on Sunday morning.

An official said, 8220;We have been given instructions by our seniors to allow entry and exit of the general public only through gate number 4.8221; Gate number 3 is the most convenient entry point for all those making a 2.5-kilometre walk from the parking lot. However, only the media, sportspersons and VIPs were allowed entry from this gate. The volunteers at the Commonwealth Youth Games felt they were the worst hit. They had to trudge up and down frequently and their access was only from Gate number 4. Pravin Walimbe, media advisor for CYG, said, 8220;There will be a shuttle service from the parking lot to the stadium. This service was not functional today morning because there was only one event scheduled.8221;