AUSTRALIA has agreed to pay Rs10,000 ($225/£141.70) for a washing machine broken during raucous celebrations by Commonwealth Games athletes in India this month, an official said today.
A spokesman for the Delhi organising committee said the Australian Commonwealth Games Association had agreed to the compensation for the damage to the machine, which was reportedly thrown from a window.
“They are bearing the cost, the matter is closed as far as we are concerned,” the spokesman, Lalit Bhanot, told reporters.
Another Games official said no cash transaction had taken place since the amount will be deducted from money the organising committee owes to the Australian association.
“This is standard procedure,” the official said. “An inventory is done when athletes occupy their accommodation and if there is any damage, the amount is recovered from the concerned country before the account is closed.”
The washing machine, which was found in a crumpled state outside the athletes’ tower block, cost 8,000 rupees and an additional 2,000 rupees was added for “incidental expenses”, the official said.
The incident took place near the end of the October 3-14 Games, where Australia topped the table with 74 gold medals.
The Australian embassy in New Delhi admitted that “spirited celebrations involving the Australian team and a number of other teams” had taken place, during which a washing machine was damaged.
It said it was “unclear who did the damage, what their nationality was, and whether it was deliberate or accidental”.
