Dixit deploys 1,500-strong workforce at Games Village

Under the new set up, professionals from five-star hotels and volunteers from Hotel Association of India will look after cleanliness and maintenace of the rooms in all the 34 towers in the Games Village, top sources told PTI.

While cleanliness and all other maintenace related matters outside the rooms like balconies and other areas within the complex has been entrusted to a team of officials from NDMC, the MCD has been directed to look after the areas outside the towers on village premises.

Besides, the three-layered mechanism, 40 DANICS (Delhi, Nicobar and Andaman Island Civil Service) officials will be coordinating with all the concerned departments in the Village to ensure cleanliness and maintenance issues in the 34 towers, housing the athletes.

Chief Secretary of Delhi Government Rakesh Mehta, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister P K Tripathi, NDMC chairman Parimal Ray and MCD Commissioner K S Mehra have been asked to monitor and coordinate all issues linked to the proper hospitality in the Village, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Dikshit said the condition in the Village has been improved to a great extent and said the Government has accepted the responsibility to put things in order at the complex considering the national pride associated with the event.

"The Village was really in a bad shape. We have improved the condition to a great extent," she said.

However, officials said they were finding it difficult to drain out the water that has seeped in the basements.

Amid strong criticism by the international delegates who dubbed the Village as "filthy and uninhabitable", the PMO on Wednesday night had directed Delhi Government to take control of the complex from Delhi Development Authority.

Officials said the remaining work will be completed in the next 24 hours. They said the developer of the complex Emmar-MGF has extended little cooperation to the government in improving condition at the Village.

On Wednesday, the city government, taking control of cleaning, house-keeping and overall maintenance of the complex, deployed a workforce of 1,500 people including professionals from five star hotels.

Yesterday, the developer had distanced itself from the controversy surrounding the Village.

"The project was completed and duly handed over to the Delhi Development Authority Organising Committee (OC) in June," a spokesperson for Emaar-MGF, which is a joint venture owned by Indian lender MGF and Dubai-based Emaar Properties, told a Dubai newspaper.