"Commonwealth Games Village will be a residential showpiece"

Since early morning an army of more than 500 people, including architects, engineers, supervisors and labourers, troops to a dusty 27-acre complex in east Delhi that is witnessing some of the most frenzied construction activities among the many such sites being readied for next year's Commonwealth Games.

The area is littered with sand hills, granite, marble heaps, construction cranes and complex building-machinery. Another group of daily wage earners waits outside for day jobs in any of the 34 apartment blocks under construction by Emaar-MGF. A new road linking the complex to the south is also under construction, along with a practice arena for athletes next to the complex.