Manmohan Singh to visit CWG venues today

New Delhi, Aug 29 (ANI): Against the backdrop of construction delays and missed deadlines, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will on Sunday visit the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the Talkatora Stadium for an on the spot inspection of the facilities provided for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which kicks off on October 3.

It has been reported that Dr Singh will interact with the Organising Committee officials during his inspection of the sites.

Earlier on August 14, Dr Singh directed the ministries concerned, the Government of the National Capital Region and the Organizing Committee that all pending works related to 2010 Games should be completed expeditiously and the facilities must meet international standards.

Presiding over a high-level meeting meant to review the preparations for the Commonwealth Games, Dr Singh observed that there had been slippages in the time schedules of some of the construction works and deficiencies observed in some of the works.

The Prime Minister stated that, in the run up to the Games, it was important to gain public confidence by instilling order and carrying out effective supervision of the preparation works.

Emphasising it was very important that as a country, the people should work together to give our honoured guests a warm welcome and a memorable experience of all that our nation has to offer, Dr. Singh said: "Our athletes and sportsmen are training hard and need the full support and encouragement of their fellow Indians."He urged all concerned to work single-mindedly so that the Games could be held in a manner the nation could be justifiably proud of.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games is India's biggest sporting event since the 1982 Asian Games.

India is expecting about two million tourists in New Delhi for the Games, as well as about 10,000 athletes from 71 teams representing 54 Commonwealth member states. (ANI)