London, Sep 22 (IANS) Sport Wales has asked the organisers of the Commonwealth Games to confirm that the event venues and the accommodation arrangements are fully ready and safe to enable it decide on its next move.
‘We have given the Organising Committee a deadline of this evening to confirm if all venues and the Games Village are fit for the purpose,’ BBC Wednesday quoted a Sport Wales statement as saying.
‘On the basis of that announcement, we will be contacting athletes via our team managers and advise them of the latest position and will issue a further update,’ the statement added.
The statement comes after Scotland delayed the departure of its athletes until the pending work at Games’ Village is complete.
Some countries Tuesday termed part of the residential towers in the Village as ‘filthy and unlivable’.
Sport Wales said on the basis of response of the Organsiing Committee, they will decide their next move.
‘We have to examine how safe it is to bring athletes into this environment.’
The Wales contingent is all the more worried after a pedestrian bridge outside the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed Tuesday, injuring 27 labourers. To make it worse, a part of the ceiling came down at the weightlifting venue Wednesday.
‘The health and safety of our team has always been our top priority – which is why we have been so desperate to resolve the issues in the Games Village,’ the statement said.
‘With yesterday’s news of the bridge collapse and now the roof of the weightlifting venue, we have to take a step back and examine how safe it is to bring athletes into this environment.
‘On the basis of that announcement, we will be contacting athletes via our team managers and advise them of the latest position and will issue a further update,’ the statement added.
Wales’ chef de mission Chris Jenkins, however, said: ‘The first athletes are due to arrive in Delhi on September 25 and there have been no alterations to these plans.
‘On the whole Team Wales is pleased with the progress made on our accommodation in the Games Village,’ Jenkins, who is in Delhi to oversee the security facilities at the Games Village, said in a statement on the website of Commonwealth Games Council for Wales.
‘We have worked closely with the Delhi Organising Committee to resolve the issues we faced on first inspection of our tower and while there has been impressive progress made we also still feel there are a number of operational issues that need to be addressed.
‘We are confident that we’ll be ready to receive athletes from Sep 25 onwards and that the accommodation for Team Wales will be suitable and comfortable for their stay in Delhi. Security here is impressive and we’re looking forward to getting the Games underway.’
On the collapse of the bridge, Jenkins said: ‘First and foremost our thoughts are obviously with those concerned.’
‘From a Games preparation point of view, a lot can be done in a short space of time but the clock is ticking with just 11 days to go until the opening ceremony. We’re aware that the Delhi Organising Committee are working 24/7 to deliver a successful Games and we’re working with them and monitoring the situation as it develops,’ Jenkins maintained.
