Until even the beginning of this month, there was a fond hope that the government would somehow manage to put up a passable show during the Commonwealth Games. Preparations were way behind schedule, the venues were still not ready, commuters were having a hell of a time as the entire city seemed to have been dug up and every new revelation seemed to point to a systemic loot of public funds meant for the spectacle. Yet, many of us believed that the organisers would manage the event somehow. After all, hadn't Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit assured us repeatedly that this was India and things did happen at the last minute after all. Even the prime minister had stepped in amid a belated attempt to rein in Suresh Kalmadi.

The latest development, then, threatens to rob us of even that fond hope against hope. Several teams have arrived and found the apartments unliveable. They have said as much. In a letter to cabinet secretary K M Chadrashekhar, Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fenell has said the condition of the accommodation has shocked a majority of the contingents.

This is the proverbial eleventh hour and everybody's worst apprehensions seem to be coming true. The question, then, is whether the organisers can still somehow save the Commonwealth Games.