By Falah Al-Fadhli, KUNA,
New Delhi : It has been five years since India announced the hosting of the New Delhi 2010 commonwealth games, but despite this honor the games have ignited controversy between environmentalists and the government over the construction of an Olympic village near the banks of the Yamuna river.
The Olympic village, which was set for construction by UAE’s Emaar Company at the cost of USD 1.4 billion, was supposed to be finished by 2009.
Environmentalists, however, filed a lawsuit against the construction of the village, saying that the project would harm the Yamuna River.
Activist Vinod Jain told KUNA that the project would decrease the level of underground water and may also put New Delhi in danger of floods in the upcoming rain season.
The Supreme Court in New Delhi had suspended construction activities last November, the activist revealed.
Meanwhile, Emaar executive Anupama Chopra told KUNA that the verdict had been appealed, especially after scientific experts proved that construction would not lead to the pollution of the Yamuna river.
She said construction would be completed by April of 2010.