Fennell urges crackdown

 NEW DELHI (AP):

Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell, yesterday, asked Indian authorities to crackdown heavily on allegations of corruption dogging the games.

Fennell said reports of alleged corruption were a matter of great concern for the federation and those involved with the games which are due to be held in October.

"This needs to be investigated thoroughly by Indian authorities, and whatever needs to be done should be done," he said, at the end of his two-day visit to assess preparations for the games.

He also said that during his visit to all 17 of the competition venues in the Indian capital, he found that work was for all practical purposes complete, but a tremendous amount of detail still needed to be sorted out.

"There is a long list of details that need to be done," he said.

Fennell also described the venues built for the games as world-class and allayed fears that the games may not go ahead.

"I have no doubts that the games will be held," he said.

Earlier, India's ruling Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi warned organisers of the Commonwealth Games that they face investigation over alleged corruption, after the conclusion of the October 3-14 event.

Allegations to be investigated

"The prime minister (Manmohan Singh) has himself intervened decisively," Gandhi said. "I trust that as soon as the games are over, the government will look into the allegations of malpractice and spare no one found to be involved in them."

"The prestige of the nation is involved. This is the time for all of us to come together and ensure the games' success," Gandhi added.

Last week, Singh appointed a group of ministers to supervise preparations and monitor progress on a weekly basis, after reports of continuous delays in games-related projects and corruption charges.

The games' organising committee is headed by Suresh Kalmadi, a lawmaker representing the Congress party. The committee has faced charges of overspending and not following due procedures in handing out contracts.