TEXT OF STORY
STEVE CHIOTAKIS: There’s an emergency meeting in Delhi, India, today over shoddy facilities and security at the Commonwealth Games. The international, multi-sport event features competition among thousands of athletes from members of the British Commonwealth. Several teams, however, are threatening to pull out.
Here’s the BBC’s Shilpa Kannan.
SHILPA KANNAN: This is the biggest sporting event India has ever hosted. More than 40,000 workers have been scrambling to get everything ready. But with just over a week to go, the construction of the buildings where the games will be held is still going on. And representatives of the national teams who have arrived ahead of the athletes aren’t impressed with what they’ve seen.
Craig Hunter, the head of England ‘s team for the Commonwealth Games, was shocked by what he saw.
CRAIG HUNTER: The toilets and what-have-you, are clearly a mess. The air-conditioning isn’t working, there’s flooding, the hot and cold water feeds are reversed. It’s just not satisfactory.
Civil rights groups claim there have been serious violations of labor laws during construction. Over 40 workers have have died during the construction. Building will continue even as today’s emergency meeting takes place to discuss management of the project. But organizers insist everything will be ready before the games begin.
From Delhi, I’m the BBC’s Shilpa Kannan for Marketplace.
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