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29 March 2024

Photos emerge of 'filthy' Delhi Games village

A badly stained and dirtied toilet at one of the living quarters of the Delhi Games village. (SUPPLIED)

Published
By AFP

The first photos emerged Thursday of the accommodation for athletes at the Commonwealth Games in India.

One shows a filthy leaking toilet, another a stained and dirty shower and a third a bed with muddy dog paw prints over it.

The pictures, leaked to the BBC by an unnamed member of a national delegation, were the first illustrations of the conditions that so shocked officials who recently arrived at the athletes' village in Delhi.

Angered and frustrated by the inaction of Indian organisers, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), the games international body, and leading countries went public with their complaints on Tuesday.

The photos show the conditions that were described by them as "filthy", "uninhabitable" and "seriously compromised".

Other photos, said to have been taken this week, show bathroom sinks full of dust and stained with an unidentifiable reddy-brown liquid, cracked pavements, shattered glass on a balcony, water-logging, stray wiring and rubble.

A number of leading countries have postponed the departure of their athletes, but the first small contingent was scheduled to arrive Thursday at the village.

The athletes' village, a sprawling complex near Delhi's main river, was slammed by CGF president Michael Fennell on Tuesday, while his deputy Mike Hooper detailed a serious of complaints from participating nations.

He described rubble, shower doors put on backwards, blocked toilets and various problems with the electrics.

There was also "excrement in places it shouldn't be", thought to be a result of labourers relieving themselves in the homes, while Scottish officials are reported to have photographed a stray dog defecating on a bed.

Since then, some 700 cleaners have been pressed into action to scrub the residential blocks, the Times of India reported Thursday.

The newspaper said Tuesday that only 18 of 34 towers had been completed.