New Delhi:
With just six days to go for the Commonwealth Games, the big focus is now the Athletes Village.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who has been overseeing efforts to get things back on track, today said she can't give a time limit to when the complex will be ready. Hitting out at the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Dikshit said they should have handled the village better.
"It's improving by the hour. We inherited a very difficult situation and we do hope that at the end of it all, whatever we can do, we will. Of course there is some seepage which the builders and the DDA should have looked at earlier," she said.
The Organising Committee (OC) chief Suresh Kalmadi said most teams are satisfied and it's not the OC's job to clean up the flats. Some countries had lashed out at the state of the village last week, calling it filthy and unlivable. (
Watch: Who said what today)
"I have been saying it since long that everything is fine. I was given the Games Village very late. Cleaning is not my job, it should have been cleaned earlier and then handed over to us. Looking after the Games is the job of the Organising Committee and everyone is happy," he said.
After initial misgivings about the Games Village, some teams like Canada, South Africa and New Zealand have said that all will turn out well. Team Scotland however still seems to have some issues even though 80 members of their contingent have moved in. Chef de Mission of
the Scotland Team Jon Doig said the games village is not up to the mark. (
Read:Games Village not good enough, says team Scotland)
On Sunday, the South African High Commissioner said a snake had been found in a room that was meant for one of his athletes. After rebuking India publicly for that, Mbulelo Mejeke said on Monday that arrangements in the Village seem to have improved. (
Read: After snake setback, he's happy with CWG Village now)