Fennell meets Sports Minister to discuss CWG preparations

New Delhi: Amid mounting concerns about the tardy pace of preparations for next year`s Commonwealth Games,

CGF chief Mike Fennell today met Sports Minister M S Gill to discuss the progress of work. Fennell, who arrived in the Capital last night to attend a Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly meet on October 12, is understood to have discussed the "areas of concern" with the minister. The minister briefed Fennell on various projects related to the October 3 to 14 mega-event. The meeting comes barely a day after Gill`s meeting with the Prime Minister in which Manmohan Singh took stock of the ongoing projects in an hour-long meet also attended by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia among others. After the review meeting, the prime minister had asked the sports minister to coordinate with Indian Olympic Association officials to fine-tune preparations. Fennell has also sought a meeting with the prime minister to brief him about the tardy preparations but has not been granted any date as yet. Fennell was miffed with the pace of the capital`s preparation for the multi-discipline event and fears it is heading for "partial failure" unless the organisers pull up their socks and get some experienced foreign experts on board. Fennell, who arrived here last night, will lead the CGF General Assembly delegates on tours of the Games venues and Village. He will also chair a meeting of the Executive Board on October 11 and the General Assembly the following day. Bureau Report