Misplaced Priority

After the 2003 Afro-Asian Games at Hyderabad, the major international sporting event being held in India is the forthcoming Commonwealth Games at New Delhi.

The amount spent by the Central Government for the CWG (bogged down in corruption allegations, cost overruns, delays) is Rs.28,054 crores whereas a measly Rs.100 crores was allotted to the Hyderabad event and it was expected rest of the cost would be raised from private sources. Even after taking into account that 7 years have passed and the inflation, the contrast is stark.

As stated by the Hon'ble Minister, the lion-share of this amount will go to create permanent infrastructure for the city. That is, indirectly, you are developing a city, which already had such bonanza during Asiad, further starving funds elsewhere.

Instead of creating infrastructure which will generate jobs perpetually, investment in stadia and swimming pools will take us nowhere except these will rot as we know our sports potential. These will be put to political use. How many sanctioned projects of public importance are given token allocations in budget for want of funds. How many foundation stones have been laid without a revisit to those sites.

This is skewed development, if not, parochial. New Delhi may be the capital of India. But our attempts to showcase India by projecting it to the exclusion of the rest of the country again and again is pathetic. Except for enriching the pockets of a few, what do these games achieve? How much of these thousands of crores goes to the athletes or the coaches? What infrastructure is created elsewhere in the country to spot, train and nurture talent?

For all round development, not only infrastructure but also talent, these games should be played at various venues. Sailing in Hyderabad, Rowing in Kerala, Football in Bengal, Hockey in Punjab or Jharkhand, etc The whole country should be involved and showcased and importantly nurtured.

We already see the results. Except for a miniscule number of individuals, our country never gets to the podium as a team. A country teeming with a billion population


....ponder