New Delhi:
India has only itself to blame for the gigantic mess of the Commonwealth Games, says Mike Hooper, the CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV's Barkha Dutt, Hooper said that the Games will be held on schedule and that the government "at the highest level is now showing urgency." He stressed, however, that the extensively chronicled under-preparedness for the Games is the fault of Indian stakeholders. The responsibility for the Games is not mine of the Federation's at all," Hooper said.
(Read: Complete transcript of Mike Hooper's interview)"We have a host city contract that clearly says that the responsibility for the implementation and delivery of all those promises that were made, all the standards, etc were the Government of India, the Delhi Government and the Organising Committee. We don't have the resources to deliver that. That comes down to the host. We pass on all the rights associated with the games to the host. What we try to do is to support and work with the Organising Committee. But ultimately to get the work done and to do it, that is the responsibility of the stake holders in India, " Hooper told NDTV.
(Watch: Mike Hooper's exclusive interview to NDTV) The CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation added, " The buck stops with all the stakeholders. We now hope that between now and October 14, we see a successful celebration of the games."
In this last week, the Athletes' village was found in such filthy condition that a few countries lodged formal complaints with the Organizing Committee. Apartments meant for use by participants and officials were described as "un-liveable." New Zealand has hired its own cleaners to prepare for its contingent's arrival.
Hooper denied stating in the past that the Games Village was better than the one used in Beijing for the Olympics."We were aware of the filth in the Village on September 15," Hooper said, emphasizing that he went public with details of the unhygienic conditions only after assurances on cleaning up the village were not met. Toilets were found choked with human refuse. One bed had been soiled by a dog.
Hooper also trained his guns on the Indian Sports Minister, MS Gill., describing his "monsoon wedding" remark as unacceptable. He said, " There is a reason why the Games are awards seven years earlier and that is because there is a huge amount of work to do. The Minister of Sport talks about the monsoon wedding approach. That is unacceptable. The reality is, the venues did not start on time. Had they started earlier, we wouldn't be in half the predicament we've seen in recent months."
In July, Gill had said, "Commonwealth Games is like an Indian monsoon wedding. Everything is being done at the last minute."