Kalmadi is Mr Popular

Organising Committee chief gets bouquets after Sunday's gala opening ceremony

It seems fortune has finally smiled on Suresh Kalmadi. Until Sunday he was the media's favourite whipping boy, but sources close to Kalmadi said that on Monday morning, to his surprise, he received a number of bouquets from the general public, in appreciation of his work.u00a0


u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0 u00a0All smiles: OC chief Suresh Kalmadi at the opening of theu00a0
u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0CWG media centre. File pic

"Apart from congratulatory emails and mobile SMSes from those who are known to him, people in the Organising Committee (OC) were surprised when they saw bouquets coming in from the general public, congratulating him for the success," said a senior OC official.

"We were surprised. After reports of him being abused, it was really a soothing change. We had never thought of such a response after the public criticism in recent days," added the official.

The official sources said, till around noon he had got over, five bouquets with notes saying, congratulations for rising upto the occasion after the so much of criticism.

The grand success of opening ceremony has enthused positive energy in the ranks and files at Organizing Committee headquarters. Those who have been roaming here and there while hiding faces were seen flaunting on Monday.

"The recent media backlash had affected the morale of those working in the OC. The officials on Monday were upbeat as the tone of the media and general public had changed," said, another official with OC. And Kalmadi wasn't shying away from getting even. "There were lots of stories about the Games all over the Commonwealth countries and the world. But one by one all the theories are losing weight," he said. "It is the best Games Village anywhere, better than the Beijing Olympics Games Village." he added.