New Delhi:
With a little over three months left for the Commonwealth Games, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday said she is still "nervous" about preparations for the mega event and sought the full cooperation of people to make it a grand success.
"We are not far away from the greatest sporting event. The conceptualization began six to seven years ago. However, as is the nature of Indians, we left everything towards the end. I feel comforted as well as nervous (regarding the preparations)," she said.
Noting that infrastructure building and security have been "taken care of", the Chief Minister said one of the challenges before her government is cleanliness, given the high density of population in the city. "It's already a Green city. But we have to make Delhi clean," she said while speaking at the HT conclave held here on the topic 'How the Games will create wealth for Delhi'. Another problem is maintenance of infrastructure, she said, "We have reached a point. We have Metro, low floor buses, 1000s of radio taxis, world class airport terminal (to be opened on July 3)...But what is the contribution of citizens. How do we as people of the city present ourselves to the world..?"
Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy, who was also present on the occasion, said, "There is a need to change the cultural behaviour of citizens. It is easier to create huge landmarks but far more difficult to preserve it."
However, CWG Organizing Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi was confident that the Games this year will be a mega success saying it will be first step for the country to host Olympics in future.
"The only time I feel nervous is when Dikshitji says she is nervous," he quipped. Meanwhile, Dikshit said many people are not aware about the commencement of online ticket sales for the Games. "There is a need to advertise about this. Regarding the developments, it's for everybody to see. We will step up the campaign two to three weeks before start of the Games...," she said.