The ‘Missing’ Gate at Nehru Stadium

By Kayio Dihri and Ashok Majhi

New Delhi: For many spectators, reaching Commonwealth Games venues is much easier than locating the gate to enter the venue.

A classic case is finding the way to Gate Number 6 of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The volunteers and the security men do not know the exact location of this particular gate. So they give wrong directions to people looking for the gate. On any given day, one can see many people walking around the stadium to find out this particular gate. Some people give up the effort in desperation after going around the stadium for two or three times. But people with grit and determination refuse to give up easily and ultimately manage to reach the much sought after destination.

For example, a family from East Delhi reached the Stadium at around 6 p.m. on Friday and went on looking for the elusive Gate Number 6. They managed to reach there only around 7-15 p.m. By this time they were so tired that they decided to return after watching the events hardly for an hour or so. “It was so disgusting. The Games authorities could not even put up proper sign-boards,” a family member said.

Moreover, by the time most people locate the ‘missing’ gate, most of the important events of the session would be over. The peculiarity of this gate is that one has to walk two to three kms from the metro station opposite to the stadium to reach the place. Adding to the woes of the spectators, there is not a single security man or volunteer on the way to direct the people. There is also no arrangement for transportation. Since the security men and volunteers are often changed, the new people assigned to work there are of little help.

In short, the elusive Gate Number 6 is bringing quite a bad name to the Games.