Chaos reigns in Games build-up

Having faced severe criticism for repeated delays, the Jharkhand Olympic Association had more egg on its face after its accreditation system failed to function properly, leaving hundreds of athletes and mediamen without their passes 24 hours ahead of the inauguration.

“Yes, there was a system malfunction,” agreed Sanjeev Kujur, the convener of the Games. “There are nearly 500 applications from Doordarshan and Akash Vani -- the chief broadcasters. Their forms had to be processed first.

“Unfortunately the system – contracted to a private company -- was unable to take the load. As a result, we were not able to process the applications on time. We apologise for the inconvenience and hope to have it sorted out at the earliest.”

Earlier chaotic scenes marred the press conferences of Kujur and JOA president R K Anand.
With DD holding the broadcast rights, video journalists are barred from shooting footage and the condition did not go too well with the television reporters.

“I have battled past six governments to have this Games conducted,” was Anand’s bizarre reply. “I understand glitches still exist, but I am confident of sorting it out by the time the Games kick off. I promise the accreditation issue will be sorted out at the earliest, and once the Games kick-off every aspect will be taken care off. With respect to the demands of the video journalists, I’ll take up the issue and hope to have it sorted also.”