The swimming stadium appears to be a half-finished shell. The track and field stadium - the Games' centerpiece - remains surrounded by cranes and many of the highway overpasses needed to shuttle athletes and fans through New Delhi's notoriously clogged streets are little more than concrete pylons.

India had hoped the event that is to feature 71 nations and territories of the old British empire, from October 3-14 next year, would burnish its international image and smooth the way for bids on more prestigious competitions, maybe even the Olympics.

But the slow pace of preparations and repeated missed deadlines have sparked fears that even this mid-level event will descend into a chaos that will deeply embarrass India.

The emerging crisis also feeds the nation's inferiority complex with regard to neighbouring China, which was widely praised for its staging of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"The whole prestige of the country is involved in organising (the Games) on time," political analyst Sujit Dutta said.

Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) chief, Michael Fennell, has grown so concerned that the delays might jeopardise the New Delhi event that he called for a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to develop an emergency plan.

"The challenges now facing the Games are enormous," Fennell said in a statement yesterday.

He demanded local organisers make immediate changes to their operating structure and immediately appoint experts with experience running large international events to high-level positions.

"Time is certainly not their friend," said Mike Hooper, the CEO of the CGF, who is in New Delhi helping oversee the preparations. "One year away is not a lot of time and there is a lot to be done."

The roughly $3 billion event was seen as an opportunity to display the 'New India' - with its phenomenal growth and its increasing status as an Asian power - on an international stage.

In a recent editorial, The Times of India newspaper pleaded with the prime minister to take over the preparations from the local organisers and put the Games on a "war footing".

"If we goof up in holding the Games, India will become a laughingstock," the newspaper said. "It would not only impact India's ambitions to hold other major events, such as the Olympics, but more importantly dent the country's standing as an investment and tourist destination."

enormous job

India's initial bid for the Games promised the venues would be completed by 2007. The local organisers' website still says many will be done by September and October 2009.

"The job is enormous," said Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the organising committee. "This is a challenge. There will be problems, but we will face the problems."

Some cautioned patience in India, saying the delays were par for the course in a country where everything from meetings to weddings starts late.

"Indians do have this knack of pulling things off at the last moment," said T.C.A. Rangachari, a former diplomat.