Of Indonesian rupiah, Jakarta traffic jams, and IOA’s miserly ways
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It is after a long gap of 56 years Indonesia is hosting the Asian Games and the capital city of Jakarta is full of hoardings with ‘Sukseskan Asian Games’ or make the Asian Games a success. Promotional videos of the event too are flashed across the city with just four days remaining for the opening ceremony.
Before leaving for Jakarta I was told about the traffic jams and also the low value of the Indonesian rupiah. I got to experience both on my first day in Jakarta itself.
The authorities have tried their level best to tackle the traffic jams by introducing the odd-even system on the busy roads leading up to the venues. But despite that the organisers have a task at hand to get the athletes in time for the competition once the event kickstarts on Sunday.
Indonesia has a high inflation rate and it can be gauged from the fact Indian rupee has a conversion rate of more than 200 Indonesian rupiah. Rupiah has denominations starting from 1,000 to as high as 100,000.
Now coming to the Indian angle, the Indian shooters landed in Jakarta on Tuesday by the same flight in which this correspondent arrived. I must admit it was odd to watch teen sensation Manu Bhaker along with other medal hopefuls Heena Sidhu and Shreyasi Singh fly economy class.
The Indian Olympic Association needs to take special care of our athletes who are trying their level best to win laurels for the country. Can you imagine the Indian cricket team travelling by economy class for the World Cup or for a major championship? No wonder, India struggles to be a sporting superpower for the simple reason that the country does not have a sporting culture.