SYDNEY: Australia have expressed concerns to India about a container of equipment for the Delhi Commonwealth Games that is waiting to be unloaded at Mumbai, local media reported on Friday.
The container of medical supplies, furniture and training equipment, including world champion vaulter Steve Hooker’s poles, had been delayed due to a spike in shipping activity, an Australian news agency said.
Some of it was needed for use by Saturday, Australia Commonwealth Games Association chief Perry Crosswhite said. “We’ve got all sorts of stuff that we need for the village,” said Crosswhite.
“The freight forwarders have gotten to a point where they’re really concerned about it. They contacted me and said: ‘Look, it’s been sitting there for 10 days.’ “They normally expect maybe a delay period of three or four days but this is more than double now.”
The gear would require another two-three days’ shipping overland from Mumbai to Delhi, the agency said. The hold-up had been blamed on a spike in shipping and India’s top diplomat in Australia has been engaged to put pressure on the Indian government to expedite the cargo. “I’ve been in touch with the ministries of shipping and transport and my own ministry and I haven’t heard back from them but we are on it,” high commissioner Sujatha Singh said – Timesofindia
