'No CWG 2010 like confusion for Portuguese Commonwealth Games in Goa'

Panaji, April 4 (IANS): There will be no Commonwealth Games (CWG) like “confusion” in raising infrastructure for the Portuguese Commonwealth Games scheduled to start in Goa in November this year, Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar said Thursday.

Suresh Kalmadi the Chairman of the Delhi 2010 CWG Organising Committee at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 3, 2010 in Delhi, India. Indian police on April 25, 2011 arrested Kalmadi, following a probe into allegations of widespread corruption surrounding the event. (Getty Images)

Tawadkar was responding to a question posed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Michael Lobo, who asked during Question Hour whether the CWG fiasco in Delhi in 2010 would be repeated in Goa because the state is already lagging behind.

“There is no question of repeating what happened in New Delhi. We are on track. In fact, we are one week ahead of the completion schedule,” Tawadkar said.

The Lusofonia Games, a Portuguese equivalent of the British Commonwealth Games, will cost the state exchequer approximately Rs.240 crore in form of raising infrastructure and organizational expenses.

Among the countries participating in the 2013 Lusofonia Games in Goa are Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Macau (China), Mozambique, Portugal and Sao Tome and Principe. Equatorial Guinea, India and Sri Lanka are associate members of the Games.