Commonwealth Games in doubt after bridge collapse (Paging Bill Clinton.. got a spare bridge?)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 9/21/10 | C. Rajshekhar Rao - ap

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NEW DELHI – A footbridge being built near the main stadium for the Commonwealth Games collapsed Tuesday, injuring 23 construction workers and putting the event in further jeopardy less than two weeks before the opening ceremony.

The accident was the latest setback to New Delhi's troubled preparations for the games, which bring together more than 7,000 athletes and officials from the 71 countries and territories in the commonwealth every four years.

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Men stand in front of a collapsed pedestrian bridge outside the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi September 21, 2010. The parlous state of athletes' accommodation for next month's Commonwealth Games in Delhi has shocked visiting teams and prompted the Games federation chief to demand authorities urgently fix a raft of problems. Complaints from team officials ranging from cleanliness to Internet access at the athletes' village have further embarrassed organisers of the Oct. 3-14 Games, amid blown construction deadlines, corruption scandals and security concerns following a tourist shooting on Sunday. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi (INDIA - Tags: SPORT EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS)

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Fact file on the Commonwealth Games, taking place in New Delhi from October 3-14. The Commonwealth Games will be safe, organisers insisted after a weekend gun attack, but Australia warned of a "high risk" of terrorism as New Delhi gears up to host thousands of athletes. (AFP Graphic)

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Commonwealth Games Federation
http://www.thecgf.com/

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Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi
http://www.cwgdelhi2010.org/

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[colorado tanker]

It doesn't look like they're going to be able to pull this off. How embarrassing for India.

But then a democracy that isn't a rich country can't just divert resources to build lavish facilities the way China did.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

I was just reading another article about the New Delhi Commonwealth Games and the Indian government's complete inability to get accommodations ready or even fit for human habitation.

There was a recent study showing that most Chinese regard their government as the main place to go to get things done, while most Indians regard their government as the main obstacle to overcome to get things done. The complete mess the Indian government has made of these games demonstrates why - it's a socialist nightmare of unbridled bureaucracy, corruption, and utter incompetence that could never survive in private industry.

India's recent economic success has come about not because of anything it's government has done but because the government got somewhat out of the way of private industry. There's no telling how fast India might progress if it's government disappeared altogether.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

But then a democracy that isn't a rich country can't just divert resources to build lavish facilities the way China did.

India is spending billions in it's own cash on military hardware. Money is not the issue. A corrupt socialist government which is a haven for the incompetents who can't succeed in private industry is the reason.