Unhappy Chidambaram warns over delay in handing over of CWG venues

NEW DELHI - Expressing disappointment over the delay in the handing over of the Games Village for the XIXth Commonwealth Games to security agencies, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has informed the Prime Minister’s Office in an internal mail that the Home Ministry will not take responsibility for any untoward incident during the event, according to sources.

“The Home Ministry will not take responsibility if any untoward incident takes place, as Games Venues have not been handed over to security agencies on time,” sources quoted Chidambaram’s mail, as saying.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was to be handed on September 21 and Games Village on September 19. These venues have still not been handed over to security agencies.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has called Sports Minister M S Gill and Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy for a meeting on Thursday evening to discuss and assess current preparations for the Commonwealth Games.

Dr Manmohan Singh has called the meeting this evening in the wake of mounting international criticism of the country’s preparedness to hold the event beginning on October 3.

Security concerns surrounding the Games have also been heightened in the wake of the shooting of two Taiwanese nationals travelling in a tourist bus outside the Jama Masjid in the walled city area here on Sunday.

The 12-day sporting extravaganza, which ends on October 14, is India’s biggest sporting event since the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi. (ANI)