Fina official hits out at aquatics venue
July 29: The three-day National Federation Cup of swimming — a test event for the 2010 Commonwealth Games — came to an end on Thursday, but the venue is far from being complete to say the least. The Shyama Prasad Mukherjee aquatics complex was inaugurated amid much fanfare last week, but the test event has exposed the amount of construction work still pending here.
The government has spent a whopping Rs 4,460 crore for upgradation/renovation/creation of sports infrastructure in the city. But the SPM aquatics complex bears testament to the fact that the money is certainly not being spent in the right manner.
The international body of swimming (Fina) left with a bitter taste pointing to chinks in the construction. “A lot of the construction work at the stadium is very shoddy. It is not a concern for me but the owners of this stadium should be really worried,” Fina vice-president Sam Ramaswamy told this newspaper on Thursday.
The Sports Authority of India has spent Rs 377 crore for the upgradation of facilities at this stadium but the results are far from impressive.
“The tiles here are of very inferior quality and have already started to come off. A diver was involved in a mishap two days back and India can ill-afford something like this during the Games. Apart from that the platform on the 10m diving board has still not been installed and the concerned authority should be hauled up,” he added.
Ramaswamy, who is also an executive committee member of the International Olympic Committee, feels swimming will be one of the most important disciplines during the October 3 to 14 Games.
“Some top swimmers have confirmed their participation and the eyes of the world will be on this discipline. A world-class venue is essential because top-class swimmers will need top facilities,” he said.
The Fina official slammed SAI for delays in completion of the venue. “The authority responsible for contruction of the stadium has been constantly misguiding me, along with the Organising Committee. The venue needs to be handed over to the OC by August 31 so that they can go ahead with the overlay work. Anything beyond that will spell trouble for the organisers,” Ramaswamy felt.
On the warm-up facilities at the SPM complex, he said, “These facilities in stadiums around the world are generally bad and same is the case here. Lifts in the diving area are not made mandatory as per Fina rules, but if this venue had the facility before it doesn’t make sense to remove it now.” The government has re-built or renovated all 12 of the competion venues, which shocked Ramaswamy.
“I have never seen so many brand new venues, even for the Olympics. The costs shoot up, the time of construction increases and it also creates problems in co-ordination between various authorities,” Ramaswamy said.
Meanwhile, on the performance and expections from the Indian swimmers, he said, “They are not getting enough training and international exposure.”
Post new comment