Travel

Delhi's Commonwealth Games: Terror Alert

by ROHIT N.K. JAIN

New Delhi, India

Houston: We have a problem!

India is in deep "doo-doo" - if I may borrow an Americanism - over its upcoming Commonwealth Games, and I fear it does not bode well for some unsuspecting communities.

Let me explain.

India has put all its eggs in one basket - Delhi's Commonwealth Games, scheduled to begin here on October 3, 2010 - with the hope of showcasing itself to the world as a "world-class power".

CRUMBLING AND COLLAPSING BUILDINGS

Billions of dollars -  several times more than any other country has ever spent on any other Commonwealth Games or any similar event - have already been spent, and the amount grows in leaps and bounds every day. Remember, India is a third world country and things for the local people cost, on an average, approx one-tenth of what anything costs in the affluent West!

Much of the money has gone into deep pockets ... corruption in India at every level is legendary and unsurpassed anywhere in the world.

Today, a little more than two weeks from the opening ceremonies, and as we start receiving athletes in a day or two, the venues and the infra-structure are still not ready.

Whatever is "ready" is already crumbling and collapsing at places.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already announced his intention to order an inquiry into the corruption around the Games debacle - after they are over - but if anyone knows India well, you know nothing will come of it. Manmohan Singh, they say, is the only honest man left standing in this country - unfortunately, he can do little while surrounded by vultures.

DENGUE FEVER EPIDEMIC

Delhi is plagued with Dengue Fever - which is also known as Bone Break Fever.   

It leads to high fever, severe headache, extreme joint pain ...and can quickly deteriorate into haemorrhaging, shock and even death. The fatality rate is approximately 5% !

Well, our capital city is now in the grips of a Dengue Fever epidemic. Several thousands have already caught it. Scores are already confirmed to have died from it in recent days ...  Keep in mind, though, that our government is notorious for never releasing correct figures. In all likelihood, the true extent of the epidemic is being down-played because of the Games.

There are three further complications:

a) Because of ongoing monsoons and floods - in Delhi! - there is no chance of abating the epidemic by the time the Games begin.

b) The Delhi hospitals have announced that there is a shortage of platelets - absolutely essential for treating the fever - and are currently treating only the critical cases! So, you'll get help only if you are influential and dying!

c) Dengue fever is infectious. This is not a good time for thousands of people to gather together under a roof to watch sports events!

FLOODS

The River Jamuna, which flows right by the Commonwealth Games venues, has overflowed its banks and has long since exceeded danger levels.

Seasonal monsoons - nothing particularly unusual or unexpected for this time of the year - are partly responsible. However, the neighbouring state of Haryana hasn't helped any by releasing millions of tons of water to release pressure on its own dams.
 
Tens of thousands of Delhi residents have been ordered to be evacuated.

Large bodies of water - stagnant water! - are to  be found everywhere, but especially in the incomplete construction sites in the Commonwealth Games venues and villages.

Stagnant waters breed mosquitos. Mosquitos are the primary carriers of ... yes, Dengue Fever.

DOPING

Scores of key Indian athletes have been pulled out because they have tested positive in drug testing ... not the best way of building a world-class reputation, I'm afraid.

NON-ATTENDANCE BY INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES

Well over a thousand athletes from abroad - that is, close to 15 percent of the international athletes scheduled to be at the games - have already announced that they will NOT be attending the Games. They include many of the stars who were to have been the crowd-drawers. Several excuses are being cited - but who can blame them?

Others will decide in the coming days whether or not they will attend.

NON-COOPERATION BY DELHI CITIZENS

A majority of Delhi's local citizens and citizens' groups have publicly announced not only their intention to boycott the Games, but also their desire and hope that the Games fail and end up in disaster, in order to teach the corrupt politicians a lesson.

They are not overly enamoured by the billions spent on the areas to be used by the Games, while the rest of the city remains perennially neglected.

Also, they already see evidence of all new "improvements" as being grossly sub-standard and crumbling ... a sign that all of these will end up being added eye-sores in the city not long after the Games are over.

BAD KARMA

Hundreds of local citizens, but primarily the poor, have been brutalized as large residential and commercial areas have been precipitously cleared - without any due process or compensation.

Moreover, much of the hurried and belated construction has been done on the backs - literally! - of poor labourers for beggar's wages, while huge fortunes are being made by cronies of those in power.

If I know much about the law of karma, it applies to individuals and nations alike. You can't mess around with the poor at this large a scale, and expect to earn any goodwill out of it.

WHERE ARE THE TOURISTS?

Delhi's Travel industry stalwarts had predicted an influx of 400,000 tourists into the city during the Games - thus justifying all the shenanigans, some of which I have listed above.

The latest figures released by the industry itself this week show that a mere 10,000 tourists have signed up so far ... a mere 2.5% of the original estimate.

It is hoped that more will turn up on the eve of the Games. But then, some who are already planning to be here, may decide to stay away ... believe me, a lot of idols are being pampered in this land of a million mini gods and goddesses these days!

BUSING IN FANS

Plans are afoot to bus in tens of thousands of "fans" from the slums of Delhi to fill the seats in the empty stadiums. These slums, however, are also dengue-fever ridden.

So imagine tens of thousands of possible infection carriers, transported into an enclosed space, where you are a sitting duck, having paid a small fortune for YOUR ticket! Keeping your fingers crossed will not help you much.

*  *  *  *  *

I have listed but a few of the problems that plague - literally! - Delhi today, on the eve of the much touted Commonwealth Games of 2010.

But here's my fear, and I offer it as a very personal reading. Do what you may with it.

TERROR ALERT ! 

Here are the facts:

There is a high probability that the Games will turn out to be a disaster. Many in the know will tell you quite openly that they already are ... they have gone beyond the point-of-no-return.

Political careers are at stake.

Election outcomes are at stake.

Deep pockets of obscene dishonesty and resulting wealth are at stake.

In such situations, India, its governments and politicians have an established pattern of behaviour.

With human life given little or no value in this country, it is commonplace for Indian intelligence to maneuvre, manipulate and make happen crisis situations which will detract world attention and direct it to other things.

Let me spell it out further.

If things are not going well by the end of September and the fate of the Games becomes glaringly obvious, it is entirely possible, feasible and probable that Indian "Intelligence community" can precipitate a "terrorist attack". Concocted evidence could show a Kashmiri hand, or a Naxalite (Communist) plot - or point to non-existent "Sikh terrorists". The Pakistanis next door are a recurring bugaboo that is made to haunt the nightmares of Indians.

If you read the news reports from the last few weeks, the ground work has already been laid.

Kashmir is at a boil - dozens are killed everyday.

Scores are reported killed by Naxalites all over the country.

And Indian authorities have already been warning about possible "Sikh terrorist attacks" for some time. When confronted by demands by foreign governments for evidence, there has been silence on the Indian end.

Several countries, including the U.S., have already issued travel advisories to their citizens, recommending avoidance of travel to India during these times of disease and possibilty of terror.

To top it all, India loves the attention it has learnt it can draw by tragedies such as the Mumbai attacks a few years ago. They proudly bandy about the term "26/11", as if it can be equated with "9/11".

Even though they know that "26/11" won them a lot of brownie points around the world vis-à-vis PR, it hasn't come close to the fall-out from "9/11", and it has disappeared from the world's radar and cannot be milked much more.

So, Indians suffer from a kind of "penis-envy", if you'll allow me another Americanism.

By engineering a "terrorist attack" before or during the Games, India can kill a number of birds with a ... well, a single bomb!

All I am saying is: BEWARE!     

This is a glaring possibility.

If you are one of my fellow Delhi-ites or Indians, stay home!

If you are planning to visit India at this time, please, PLEASE don't be STUPID. Stay at home ... and stay safe!

I say this as a patriotic Indian ... one who loves India no less than anyone else in this land!

PLEASE BEWARE!

I sure do hope my fears prove unfounded, and ultimately all goes well in this "fair" city of ours; let's all pray en masse to the gods and goddeses of India.  

 September 14, 2010

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