Mahesh Bhupathi eagerly waiting for Commonwealth games

Indian doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi says the home support will help India perform well when tennis will make its debut in the next year''s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. "I am glad that Commonwealth Games are taking place on Indian soil.

We are expecting a huge home crowd''s support and hopefully we will play spectacular tennis in the mega event," Bhupathi told reporters after laying the foundation stone of a sports academy here. The multiple Grand Slam winner does not want to think beyond the Commonwealth Games and parried questions about 2012 London Olympic Games, saying his "priority right now was Commonwealth Games".

Green Commonwealth Games: Delhi govt steps up measures

In tune with the green plan for next year’s Commonwealth Games, the Delhi government has drawn up a comprehensive plan to recycle the vast amount of waste expected to be generated during the 13-day long sporting event.

The state’s Environment department has already identified over 80 schools having paper recycling units to recycle waste paper from different Games venues.

A soft-drink manufacturer has also been roped in to recycle plastic water bottles and juice bottles. “Over 80 schools have been given paper recycling machines. These schools will recycle all the paper waste generated during the sporting event,” Environment Secretary Dharmendra said. A proper mechanism will be put in place to collect organic as well as inorganic waste from Games venues and take them to the recycling plants on a daily basis, the Environment Secretary added. “We are taking all possible steps to minimise the carbon footprint for the Commonwealth Games,” he said.

The Delhi government and Games organising committee have already declared that the event will be the first “Green Games” in the history of sporting events. The department has already carried out large-scale afforestation and development of city forests.

Delhi in foreign media

A peek into what the international press is saying about the Capital and its preparations for next year’s Commonwealth Games

The newyork times
Plastic Roads Offer Greener Way to Travel
Mridu Khullar, November 13
In the 1990s, Ahmed Khan’s company in Bangalore churned out hundreds of thousands of plastic bags each month that eventually ended up as garbage. Mr Khan, 60, is trying to solve two of the biggest problems in India: battered roads and overflowing landfills. His solution: streets made with recycled plastic. With a ban on plastic bags being enforced in the Indian capital and the High Court asking the government to explore new ways of using plastics, the New Delhi municipal government is showing interest as well... Despite interest from Sheila Dikshit, chief minister of Delhi, only two km of such pavement have been laid in the capital, and that was five years ago.

The guardian
Delhi’s new B&Bs a real home away from home
Randeep Ramesh, November 10
There’s much to be said for the creature comforts of an Indian home. So much so that, in 2006, the Indian government allowed homeowners to register their abodes as bed-and-breakfasts. Prospective guesthouses were first vetted by the government and then given a rank depending on the size and number of rooms offered. Delhi Tourism Authorities also make surprise inspections twice a year to make sure the homes are up to scratch. Helping the trade is the fact that Delhi is woefully short of decent, affordable hotel rooms - a situation that will become more acute when thousands of tourists arrive for next year’s Commonwealth Games.

AFP
Indian police in search of the ‘perfect’ beggar
Beatrice Le Bohec, November 25
More than two months after the Delhi authorities launched mobile courts to convict and remove beggars from the capital’s streets, the controversial initiative has made a faltering start. On a recent trip with police officers, the difficulties for the anti-begging teams...were plain to see. The idea is that police nab the beggars and bring them before a judge on a bus which accompanies the officers. The team tried their luck at a nearby Sikh temple — religious sites being a favoured spot for beggars. An elderly, bearded man with bare feet sat at the entrance. “He hasn’t got his hand out, so we can’t stop him,” said Usha Rani, the only woman in the team.

BBC
Delhi gets tough on drink drivers
November 26
A court in the Indian capital, Delhi, has ruled that those driving under the influence of alcohol could lose their driving licence. The order will empower the police to confiscate the licence of a driver who is found to have consumed alcohol beyond the permissible limit...Activists say tens of thousands of Indians die in road accidents every year because of drink driving...According to the new guidelines, Delhi police will have the authority to take away the licence of a driver driving under the influence of alcohol. The offender would then have to appear before the transport department which would decide whether his licence should be suspended or cancelled.

DAWN
India to launch cleanliness campaign
December 2
In an effort to improve New Delhi’s image before the Commonwealth Games next year, the Indian capital is to launch a publicity campaign to stop people urinating in the street. ‘Don’t be su su kumar’ (‘Don’t be Mister Pee’) goes one of the catchy slogans for billboards that will be displayed at city intersections. “We have prepared 600 signboards with messages related to cleanliness. These will be displayed to educate people,” Delhi Mayor Kanwar Sain said. The mayor said the drive would also target the habit of spitting in public and the city’s many litterbugs. Lessons in etiquette are already being imparted to the city’s auto-rickshaw drivers.

Colonial-era structure razed for grade separator, conservationists question project

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) plans to begin the construction of a 1.7-km grade separator on Rani Jhansi Road near Old Delhi to tackle congestion in the area ahead of the Commonwealth Games has led conservationists to raise questions about the project’s blueprint. The construction, they claim, will disturb many heritage structures in the area.

The construction of the four-lane grade separator has already led to the demolition of the Bishop House, a colonial-era building located inside the Methodist Church complex built in the 1930s.

The work will also affect the facades of several other listed heritage buildings, including Queen Mary’s School and the chapel of the St Stephen’s Hospital — structures mentioned in the civic body’s own list of heritage monuments based on an earlier listing by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which is currently awaiting the state government’s notification.

Officials of INTACH said the MCD has not discussed the subject. “The matter has not come to us and we heard about it from other sources,” said Professor A G K Menon, Convener, Delhi Chapter of INTACH. “The MCD needs to respect its own heritage list even if it has not been notified yet. Besides, according to rules, they must discuss the project with the heritage committee.” The MCD officials said the heritage structures have no legal entity yet as the list has not been notified by the Delhi government.

“At the time of finalising the project blueprint, the MCD took into confidence all the parties involved. The Bishop’s House agreed and accepted the compensation,” said MCD spokesperson Deep Mathur.

The Corporation also argues that all those who have been shifted have been paid appropriate compensation. The occupants of the Bishop’s House were paid a hefty Rs 14 crore, said MCD officials.

Bishop S S Singh of the Delhi Episcopal Area, Methodist Church in India, said he had taken up the issue with the authorities a number of times, but to no avail.

“We finally submitted to their demand and vacated the premises when we were told that the MCD project was necessary for the larger public good,” Bishop Singh said.

Residents of bungalows -- numbers 12, 14, 16 (including Bishop’s House) and 12 quarters in the Methodist Mission compound at Boulevard Road — have already vacated the premises.

The Delhi Urban Art Commission said the proposal was cleared in October 1995, when these monuments were not listed as heritage structures. It was only after 2000 that INTACH came up with a heritage listing for the city.

The project was originally sanctioned in the early 1990s. The MCD, however, took over 10 years to begin work, citing the shift of the tyre market and other shops in the area as a reason for the delay. The Unified Traffic and Transport Infrastructure and Engineering Centre recently cleared the revived proposal and a private firm, Brahmaputra Infrastructure Ltd. will carry out the construction. The grade separator, from Filmistan Cinema to near St Stephen’s Hospital in Tis Hazari, will cater to around 50,000 vehicles daily. For the Rs 177-crore project, the MCD also had to cut around 570 trees in the area.

What is a grade separator

A grade separator is a structure which separates the uniform grade of a running highway into two different grades. It can either be a flyover or an underpass. Roads with grade separation allow traffic to move freely with fewer interruptions. Plus, it reduces the capacity for accidents.

New Zealand swimmers on track for Delhi

Five New Zealand swimmers have gone under the qualifying mark for the Commonwealth Games at the Queensland State Championship in Brisbane.

Melissa Ingram led the way, breaking the New Zealand record twice, in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Ingram enjoyed a superb return to international competition after a three month layoff this year following her shock failure to qualify for the World Championships.

Others to better the target times were Emily Thomas, Jessie Blundell, Daniel Bell and Andrew McMillan.

Although they have beaten the qualifying mark for the Games, all swimmers can only qualify for Delhi if they better the times at the official trials in April.

Haryana fillip to Commonwealth Games hotels

The Haryana government has decided to ease the worries of hoteliers gearing up for Commonwealth Games 2010.

They have decided to set up a single-window-service for the speedy disposal of approvals at various departments in Gurgaon, Faridabad and other NCR towns.

As many as 6,647 rooms are being built at various hotel sites. They are likely to be ready for use between March and June next year.

Gurgaon currently has about 1,477 rooms in 28 existing private hotels. Trident Hilton with 110 rooms, Bristol with 85 rooms, Ramada with 91, Radisson Suites (Gurgaon) with 39 suites, Crown Plaza with 202 rooms, Leela Kempinski with 322 and Park Plaza with 46 rooms are some of the key hotels.

According to Sujit Banerjee, secretary (Tourism), Government of India, Haryana would be able to provide about 8,793 rooms for the Games.

In a meeting with hoteliers and senior officials of Haryana Tourism department on Thursday, Gurgaon deputy commissioner Rajender Kumar Kataria, who is also the nodal officer for the Games for Haryana’s NCR towns, said setting up the service was top priority.

Hoteliers such as Vatika are building 312 rooms, Oriental South Delhi 280 rooms, Global Heritage 253 rooms, Homage 118 rooms, City Plaza 75 rooms, Alps 84 rooms, Saffron 50 rooms and Broadway 46 rooms,.

Kataria said the service would help hoteliers get all approvals and licences under one roof in shortest possible time so that maximum hotels could be ready for use before Games. He said hoteliers could e-mail their problems to him on his personal email ID raj69kat@gmail.com.

Feedback collected from hoteliers revealed that of the 6,647 rooms at 97 hotel sites, 4,438 were 100 per cent completed, while 1,614 rooms were 80-99 per cent complete.

In view of the Games, the augmentation of hotel accommodation in Haryana has gained momentum.

Banerjee said the state has allotted 101 sites to build additional rooms. The Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) had allotted three sites for 417 rooms, Town and Country Planning Department has allotted 12 sites for 2395 rooms, Urban Local Bodies Department had also allotted 12 sites for 889 rooms. Similarly, HUDA had allotted 25 sites for 2369 rooms and there were 15 complexes of Haryana Tourism, where 488 rooms are available.

Delhi’s preparations on test again as crucial meet begins

The 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee will face another tough test when the Commonwealth Games Federation’s seven-member Coordination Commission meets in New Delhi from Monday to evaluate and assess Delhi’s preparation. Operation and venues were two functional areas of concern to the COCOM that had met in May this year. Their concern was due to paucity of time.

The OC officials, however, seemed upbeat. OC vice chairman Randhir Singh, who has been entrusted with the job to coordinate with the COCOM, was ‘satisfied’ with the presentation. Though he did believe that operation has been a concern area, he said, “Everything has been addressed and we have tried to plug all loopholes.”

Singh, who is also in the Singapore Youth Olympic COCOM, believed the COCOM will be impressed with the presentation this time around, which will be in three parts and cover 13 functional areas.

“As far as operational part goes, I am satisfied with our preparation,” said Singh.

“In most of the areas, we are bang on deadline. In those in which we are likely to need more time, we shall put in extra efforts. The COCOM will see the difference.”

The three COCOM members, chairman Austin Sealy (Barbados), Chris Jenkins (Wales) and Sharad Rao (Kenya), have got down to business and have already visited the SP Mukherjee Swimming Complex and the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium on Sunday.

The COCOM members also met Suresh Kalmadi, OC chairman, at the OC headquarters.

Jersey swimmer Ian Black reaches Commonwealth Games

Jersey's Ian Black is the first island swimmer to qualify for next year's Commonwealth Games in Delhi.The 20-year-old, who moved to Australia in 2007 to train full-time, finished eighth in the 400m Individual Medley at the Queensland State Championships.

However it was his heat time of four minutes 29.09 seconds on Sunday morning that was two seconds under the Commonwealth qualification mark.

He told BBC Jersey: "This is what I came out here to do."

He added: "It's great to have finally reached my goal - when I looked up at the board and saw my time it was awesome."

Earlier in the day Jersey's Simon Le Couilliard swam a personal best and broke the island record but missed qualification by less than half a second in the 100m butterfly.

Both swimmers have further opportunities to qualify on Monday, with Black in the 100m breaststroke and 200m Individual Medley and Le Couilliard in the 100m freestyle.

6,000 rooms being constructed for CWG in Haryana: Selja

In view of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, as many as 6,000 rooms are being constructed on war footing by various hotel owners in Haryana, which would be completed within the stipulated time, Union tourism, housing and urban poverty alleviationminister Kumari Selja said here today.

The taxi drivers would be imparted behavioural training, so that they can behave decently with foreign tourists and people coming to watch these games, she told reporters here.

The road tax charged by various states would also be collected at one point, so that tourists might not face any hassles, while going from one state to another, she said adding the collected road tax would be distributed among the states later on.

She said that the Commonwealth Games were expected to lift the country's tourism industry in a big way.

"It would be the biggest sports event to be held in the country ever," she said adding that the tourist places of country would certainly attract a large number of foreign tourists next year.

Besides Delhi, tourists would be accommodated in NCR areas and it would benefit Haryana a lot.

She said that special efforts were being made to promote tourism in Ambala. Holistic schemes would be prepared after exploring tourism potentials in Panchkula, Yamunnagar and Ambala, the union minister said.