CGF chief Fennell to meet PM on slow pace of Commonwealth Games works

Fennell was reportedly upset with the Organising Committee (OC) during the meeting of its executive board on Thursday and has asked chairman Suresh Kalmadi to fix an appointment with the prime minister during his next visit for CGF general assembly in October.

A member of the OC not wanting to be named said Fennell indeed told the board that the "OC does not appear to be in a position to complete the infrastructure and also hold the Games as scheduled."

"He also told the OC chairman that he wants to meet the prime minister and appraise him of the progress of Games' organisation." When contacted, the secretary general of OC, Lalit Bhanot, told reporters that he was not aware of any such development.

Sources in the OC, however, said that Fennell could not have complained anything related to the infrastructure because work at all the venues have gathered pace and will be completed in time.

"All venues will be ready by February-March and only the cycling Velodrome and the rugby venue will be the last to be finished as construction began much later than at other sites. Even these two will be ready latest by February-March," an OC official said.

"All the CWG-related work is being monitored at various levels right from the PMO. There are various ministries involved in the Games organisation and they have been monitoring the work regularly. And if there was any doubt regarding the completion of the projects, it would have been brought to the notice of Group of Ministers overseeing the work," the official said.

"It is not for the first time that Fennell has sought a meeting with the PM. He had been meeting the PM, the sports minister and other government officials whenever he is in the city," the official said.