Foot overbridge collapse adds to Commonwealth Games woes

Under attack over preparations and cleanliness, the government on Tuesday faced further embarrassment when an under-construction foot overbridge collapsed injuring 27 people outside the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the main venue for the mega event.

The collapse of the 95-metre long hanging bridge was the second such incident since Monday when a canopy erected at the stadium fell, injuring an additional deputy commissioner of police and another policeman. The bridge caved in around 3.10pm when construction work was underway.

Till late on Tuesday, cranes were clearing the debris from the site. The overbridge was built in four months at a cost of Rs5 crore by a Hyderabad-based infrastructure company, which was contracted by the Delhi government’s public works department.

“We have set up an inquiry, which will submit its report within three weeks. The firm has been blacklisted. The village was not for athletes and officials, but for the public. Alternative arrangements are being made,” Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said.

But this collapse has only added to the shakiness of the event. New Zealand team’s chef de mission Dave Currie, who has been camping here for a week, warned that the Games could be called off. “The reality is that if the village is not ready and athletes can’t come, the implications are that it’s not going to happen,” Currie told New Zealand commercial radio. “It’s pretty grim really and certainly disappointing when you consider the amount of time they had to prepare. They’ve got a little bit of time but it’s kind of two seconds to midnight really.”

As the events of the day unfolded with unhappy rapidity, prime minister Manmohan Singh swung into action. He summoned Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna and directed him to personally oversee the clean-up and refurbishment of the apartments to house athletes and officials, a senior official said.

— With inputs from agencies