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It is simply a question of priorities.

As the elected representatives of the people of


this country whose interests are the executive forwarding? Do we need utilitarians
in the government to understand that Delhi is not India and that 72% of our
population still lives in the villages and is dependent on agriculture, agriculture
which contributes about 17% of the country’s GDP and continues to remain largely
rain fed. More than 16000 crore rupees will be spent on the commonwealth games
2010 to be held in Delhi next year. An 11 minute musical extravaganza featuring
some of the prominent bollywood stars during the closing ceremony in Melbourne
cost the Indian govt. more than 30 crores. It is shocking that this debate has eluded
popular media almost entirely and must be taken up now when the decision has
been made.

My question to this house is why do we need to host an expensive sports event like
the commonwealth? A plausible answer might be to assert our success and
development, our national pride and global clout. Speaking of development when
are we going to take steps towards greater food security.? Why can 16000 crores of
rupees not find their way into the 127 research centres for different agro economic
zones of our country proposed by Dr. Swaminathan to develop high yielding crops
for a warmer planet? Why can this money not be channeled to build new dams to
prevent flooding in eastern India every other year? Why can this money not be
pumped into the NREGS to provide for employment for the marginal farmers of this
country?

National pride and global clout- have we forgotten that the UN says that 80% of our
population lives on less than 1 dollar a day? The abject poverty in the by lanes of
Delhi is not something we are proud of. The high malnutrition and infant mortality
rate has shamed us before the world community. Our HDI is one of the lowest in the
world. If we really want to assert ourselves we must find a place in an expanded
permanent UN security council, a stronger voice in the Doha talks of the WTO, a
better bargain at the Copenhagen climate summit. No development is meaningful
without social justice and as long as the poor Indian is denied financial inclusion let
us not talk of showcasing our prosperity.

Many claim that the commonwealth games have acted like a catalyst for
infrastructural development in the capital. That may be true but is it fundamentally
correct. Why do we need an international event to realize the need for better
infrastructure? Besides this development is taking place at the cost of the india that
we urbanites do not know of. Another major cost associated with the games is the
environmental cost. The games village is being constructed in the bed of Yamuna
River near Akshardham temple complex. This will reduce the total area of the river
bed making surrounding areas more vulnerable to flooding during heavy monsoons.
DDA has been bulldozing green parts of the city to clear land for new construction.
Who is going to make up for the loss of these trees?
Some might argue that games will bring more tourists to India and thus more
business. But the important question is who will benefit from this surge in business?
How will this employment for few make up for the mass unemployment in the rural
India?

In 1982, we proudly hosted the Asian Games. The event was considered by many as
a huge success. Huge money was spent on sporting infra structure and other
facilities. Does the average sport loving Indian have access to any of those
facilities? Have the Sport Authority of India done anything to maximise the utility of
those facilities? Did the holding of the events throw up fresh enthusiasm for
athletics and other such sporting disciplines?

Milkha Singh’s record of the 1960s still stands for 400 metres. Worldwide records
are tumbling down everyday but this is not the case in India. Suresh Kalmadi who
has been at the helm of affairs for three decades has been unable to improve the
standards of Indian sports and sportsmen by any measure. As a country we should
focus on creating world-class sportsmen and women rather than waste money on
extravagant events. Australia’s tally of 221 medals in the 2006 games was way
ahead of India’s 49. India also lagged far behind England and Canada. When china
hosted the Olympics last year it made sure that they won the most number of
medals thus making the Chinese victory even sweeter. If India puts up a dismal
performance at the commonwealth games next year I don’t see how we will take
pride in hosting the games.
The country should take a leaf out of Cuba’s example which rose from the position
of 31 to 4 in the 1980 Olympics because the training system believed in catching
sportspersons young and then providing them support throughout their life. This
does not happen in India. Let us put 1600 crores in a system which supports young
budding sportsmen for life.

My friends anything that is not a necessity is either wastage or luxury.

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