Mismanagement puts players, officials in trouble |
Back To Main |
01-Jul-2013
The News
ISLAMABAD: In spite of all the resources available to them the organisers of the National Games have been unable to hold the competitions in a befitting manner due to a lack of proper planning.
The accreditation cards are normally issued to players and officials much before the start of the event, but a large number of athletes and officials have not been issued the accreditation cards as yet.
An official of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) told this correspondent that he had been trying to get his accreditation card for the last two days, but had not been issued any card.
The process improved a bit on Sunday as compared to the first two days.
But in the evening the printer stopped functioning and it was taken away by the staff for repair.
Even the schedule of the competitions was also not available which has put the reporters covering the event in much trouble.
In spite of the fragile law and order situation, the security was also not satisfactory. This correspondent saw at some gates a few individuals easily making their way into the Pakistan Sports Complex without any proper checking.
There are no walk-through gates which are indispensable for such slots in which a large number of athletes are competing.
Armed forces have been managing their own security but for the rest of the teams there is little to be seen.
A top official of the Interim Committee had claimed the other day that a media centre had been established in order to facilitate the journalists, but no such thing was seen.
The accommodation facilities are not bad. But here too the organisers did not keep parity and some contingents have been lodged in better hotels than others.
The female athletes have been lodged at the hostels of the Pakistan Sports Complex while the male athletes have been accommodated in seven hotels located at the Sitara Market situated in the vicinity of the Zero Point.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s contingent was not satisfied with the accommodation arrangements. “There is no planning here and we are not satisfied with our accommodation and other facilities. We are being treated unfairly. On the arrival day our contingent had to wait for hotel rooms till 3:00am in the night,” said an official of KP.
Meanwhile, the Interim Committee has released grants to all the contingents. Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan have got Rs3 million each, while Punjab received Rs3.1 million.
The 42 federations have also been released Rs200,000 each. The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has given Rs80 million to the Interim Committee for holding the Games. |
