New Delhi:
Commonwealth Games organisers are now facing negative publicity not only at home but also in the foreign media over the dengue fever outbreak in the capital and the slow pace of work on projects.
The extensive coverage in the foreign media, including in leading newspapers like 'The Financial Times' and 'The Sydney Morning Herald', is likely to add to the woes of the Games organisers who are already facing heat back home due to allegations of scams and incomplete projects.
The Financial Times in a report published on Thursday says, "India's aspirations for glory as the host of the upcoming Commonwealth Games faces a fresh problem: a serious dengue fever outbreak that is threatening to scare off athletes and fans".
Quoting official figures on dengue, the newspaper goes on to say according to Delhi hospitals the dengue wards are overflowing with cases far exceeding the normal levels.
The Sydney Morning Herald said, "An increased risk of dengue fever has been added to the list of headaches for the New Delhi Commonwealth Games organisers.
"Monsoon rain coupled with venue construction sites have massively increased the areas of standing water that are ideal breeding sites for the type of mosquito that spreads the disease".
A report by the Australian Associated Press (AAP) says, "Measures to combat an outbreak of dengue fever during the Commonwealth Games in India could prove more harmful than effective".
It further said, this year's outbreak is double the annual figure and has been blamed in part on the mass of construction efforts to build roads, sporting venues and other capital projects required for the Games.
Another report in the 'Malaysia Insider' says that "on top of construction chaos and corruption concerns, organisers of the Delhi Commonwealth Games are now grappling with a mosquito crisis at sporting venues and are even employing larvae-eating fish".
"A heavy monsoon and the Games construction sites across the city, where water has gathered in large pools, have led to heightened fears this year about mosquito-borne diseases. The insects breed in stagnant water," it says.