South Asian Games: Co-Hosts Accuse Assam of Sabotaging Meghalaya Leg
The South Asian Games (Shillong leg) officials have claimed that organisers in Guwahati are trying not to project the Meghalaya leg of the event in good light
The 12th South Asian Games organising committee in Shillong on Sunday accused Assam of "sabotaging" the Meghalaya leg as lack of coordination was evident with the multi-discipline event entering day three. (South Asian Games: Chaos on Opening Day as 'Dog Shed' Used as Press Centre)
The Games website remained the weakest link as Shillong leg news trickled into the page at a snail's pace.
Till noon on Sunday it had got only the mention of archery elimination round which had got over on Friday. India had by then secured four gold and four silver from the individual rounds.
As India remained in line for 10 gold by advancing into the team event finals in the afternoon, the website by evening could update only the individual results that got over yesterday.
Claiming it as a move to "sabotage" the Meghalaya leg, a top official of the Shillong media, who is also in charge of the communication, said: "We've been sending everything -- all the results updates -- on regular basis but the central server is in Guwahati.
"They're handling everything. We're helpless. It's certainly an act of sabotage from the people in Guwahati. They don't want to project the events in Shillong in a good light."
He further pointed out that they had asked for 30 number of work terminals for media but so far only five had been sanctioned at the Main Press Centre.
"Everything is bound to move slowly here in Shillong as it's coordinated from Guwahati," he said.
Head of Communication of the 12th South Asian Games' Organising Committee, D J Narayan expressed "surprise" at the chaos prevailing in Shillong.
"I'm extremely surprised and unaware of this. I treat this as a feedback and will take it up seriously," Narayan said.
Meanwhile, the organisers here said they were mulling shifting the makeshift MPC staged in a tent inside an open ground here to an office building.
Reacting to a report that MPC was a 'dog shed', a top official here said: "They had kept the sniffer dogs temporarily. But we're now planning to shift the venue altogether."