The prime minister came, the prime minister saw, the prime minister conquered his urge to stay clear of the disaster that has been the preparation for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Redouble efforts to quickly complete the work, he said in no uncertain terms to the officials who accompanied him during his visit to the not-yet-ready Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday, barely 34 days before the event. Even as the prime minister spoke, cyclists participating in a test run not far from this main venue braved uneven tracks, rubble on roads, thick dust, faulty bicycles and the inevitable injuries.

Coming as it did at the eleventh hour, months after it became crystal clear that it required some higher intervention to get the preparations on track, didn't the PM's visit come as too little, too late? Shouldn't the PM have intervened much earlier, when there was still time to salvage the situation?