London Olympic Village not up to India’s high standards ( CWG 2010 at Delhi had far more facilities and ratings than the London Olympic Village )

The shoe is on the other foot now. In the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games in 2010, one of India’s biggest worries was the Games Village wouldn’t be up to high standards of the visiting athletes. But despite all the delays and controversies, starting with a spectacular opening ceremony, India put on a show for the entire world.

However, it seems like Great Britain hasn’t quite managed to do the same. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, if the Village in Delhi was five-star, London isn’t even a two-star.

“If the accommodation at the Commonwealth Games was five-star, on that scale the accommodation here at the Games Village is not even two-star. With the equipment and everything else on one side, there is hardly any space to move. The rooms are so cramped,” Pareshnath Mukherjee, the Archery Association of India general secretary and manager of the squad at the London Games, said.

He further added: “The Village here is absolutely spick and span. But in hindsight, the accommodation at the CWG Games was so much better and even then, we were criticised.”

The British Olympic delegation might not be very happy with Mukherjee’s comments but a certain Suresh Kalmadi certainly will. The Olympic Village has 2,818 new homes for East London.

But of course, this is the least of London’s worries. Severe disruptions hit three of the main rail links to the Olympic Park in east London early on Monday, four days before the start of the Games, in the latest transport fiasco to raise anxiety levels in the British capital.

Adding to the stress factor, the labour union RMT announced industrial action by staff in some parts of the city’s transport network during the Games to demand bonuses in recognition of the extra work involved.

In another incident, a man, who has not been named, dived off the London bridge. He had been taking part in a protest by London taxi drivers over a decision to keep them off part of a road network reserved for Olympic athletes, officials and journalists.

With inputs from agencies