A look at Commonwealth conditions
TEXT OF STORY
BOB MOON: After weeks of horror stories about filthy living quarters and unfinished bathrooms, it turns out the accommodations at India’s Commonwealth Games might not be so bad after all. Athletes have started moving in and report being pleasantly surprised by what they’ve found. Rahul Tendon is the BBC’s reporter in New Delhi. Hello.
RAHUL TENDON: Hi Bob.
MOON: What sort of reaction has there been from the athletes who’ve already moved in?
TENDON: There’s about 1,000 athletes who have moved in. Bob, you can imagine, they’ve seen all those pictures I’m sure you have as well, heard the reports. So on their way to the accommodation, they were pretty nervous. But when they got there, beaming smiles on their faces, they were all pretty happy.
Louise Bevan is a Welsh hockey player. I asked her what her room was like.
LOUISE BEVAN: The rooms are in fantastic condition, everybody’s loving the balcony, the views we have. And all the conditions are just absolutely fantastic.
MOON: Raul, how much work have they had to do over the past few days to get these facilities up to scratch?
TENDON: Bob, it’s been crazy. Electricians, cleaners, plumbers, anybody they can find in Delhi to really get this place ready. Four thousand people working around the clock. Most of the conditions are good, but there’s still some work to go.
MOON: Now how easy is going to be for the organizers to be able to put these horror stories that we’ve heard behind them and get on with these games?
TENDON: It’s going to take a long, long time I think. Look, today a big story here — there was a snake in the South African room. They found another snake on the tennis village as well. A boxer’s bread broke when he tried to lay down on it. All these stories dominating the headlines here. You know as well as I do — when a negative news cycle starts, it’s difficult to break.
MOON: Rahul Tendon is The BBC’s reporter in New Delhi. Thanks for joining us.
TENDON: Thanks Bob.
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