Are Delhiites ready to be good hosts during Commonwealth Games?

THE DAYS are drawing nearer for one of biggest sporting events, Commonwealth games 2010. It is time for Delhiites to prove themselves as a good host for visitors during Games. But question is, are Delhiites ready for being good hosts? And look at the irony the Commonwealth Games has itself lost the sheen despite spending millions on it preparation.

The average Delhiites expected that there would be significant changes in their lives from hosting this mega sports event. Situation has hardly changed and cosmetic development has taken place around Games Village.

From ornamental street lights, decorative signages, bill boards, street art, right of information kiosks, luxury toilet complexes etc. to ensure the visitors get a feel that is akin to world-class cities such as Hong Kong and Sydney.

Rest of the situation in Delhi is still bad. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Streetscaping and beautifying is a good idea but garbage all over city still needs a sustainable solution. It is highly surprising that number of buildings, uncompleted structures and slum clusters etc. are being hidden under wraps.

Is it enough to show visitors that Delhiites are leading a world class life? Will all this alter tourists’ perception of Delhi? What will be their reaction about this city, when some visitors take a short trip to see the other parts of the Delhi?

One thing that easily gets noticed is, Delhiites have a faulty sense of national pride and no sense of ownership of civic amenities like roads et al. They pay for them but don’t care if they are clean or not.

They do not respect our laws or public property. When educated people do not think twice before tossing their McDonald’s’ bags, styrofoam containers, wrappers, cigarettes and plastic cups out of the car/bus windows, we can hardly expect illiterate people to know better.

Mostly citizens wear an attitude that is needlessly aggressive, disdainful towards law and order. The richer people do not forget to flaunt their connections to power when they are caught. The pride that the hosts should be wearing like a smile is barely visible.

The situation is more or less the same in public transportation system like metro and bus where people push each other and jump queues. . Fighting for seats, not offering them to the old and physically challenged is a mark of a Delhiite. Majority of them turn a blind eye to the etiquette and mostly adopt the infamous ‘chalta hai’ attitude.

It is a pity that Delhi government has hardly taken any interest in changing manners of their citizens. Countries like Germany and China had made enormous efforts to change their citizens' habits before hosting mega sporting events. Now it is no time for Government to change the way people behave and make them more caring and sharing. In India, democracy is taken to mean liberty to do as you please.