Games: Dikshit nervous but hoping for the best

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said she was nervous about the Commonwealth Games but was certain that the government would come out in flying colours.

“I should be nervous. You are nervous when there is a big event in your family,” Dikshit told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here in the capital.

“But I am sure we will manage it,” she added.

The Chief Minister said the year had gone well for her and the government hoped that the next one would be the same. “2009 achcha beeta (went well)...looking forward to 2010,” she said.

Earlier speaking at the function organised by an NGO Child Fund, she said her government was ready to offer any help to people working for social development so that India becomes a superpower not only in terms of quality of life but also as a moral society.

The need of the hour is for everyone to pool resources and develop the children of the country, Dikshit said.

“The government cannot reach out to everybody. NGOs can play a major role in this regard to reach out to people. They can give a holistic view to a child’s character and skill,” she said.

The Delhi government, with the two Dilli Haat projects has tried to put up outlets for selling handicraft and recycled items, she said.

Commonwealth Games 2010 contract referred to solicitor general

The contract between public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and UK-based SIS Live for television coverage of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010 has now been referred to solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam, it is learnt.

A source in the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry said that opinion of the solicitor general has been sought on the draft contract between Prasar Bharati and SIS.

Also, the I&B ministry has written to the Central vigilance commissioner Pratyush Sinha on the coverage of the games and the tendering process for selection of the broadcaster. I&B secretary Raghu Menon's recent letter to Sinha, elaborating on the tender process, is being seen as a cautious step to ward-off controversies on a later date.

Sources pointed out that SIS wanted certain changes in its contract with Prasar Bharati, and that resulted in difference of opinion between the finance wing of the broadcaster and the Doordarshan Directorate. Subsequently, a decision was taken to seek the advice of the solicitor general.

After a tender process, in which at least 10 players participated, five were shortlisted. Finally, SIS Live of the UK was selected for production and coverage of the Commonwealth Games for Rs 246 crore.

Officials in the I&B ministry said that since Prasar Bharati does not have the expertise to conduct an international event in the high-definition television (HDTV) format, production and coverage of the games had been outsourced.

An empowered committee comprising top officials of Doordarshan and All India Radio selected the broadcaster.

SIS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Satellite Information Services (Holdings) Ltd and is owned by a combination of leisure and financial investors, according to the company website. It's into TV production, broadcasting and providing live pictures and data via satellite. It also supplies TV programming and data services to the UK and Ireland betting industry.

Among other bidders shortlisted for producing the games coverage were ADAG group's Big Products in consortium with Inter Public Marketing Services Shanghai and Tokyo Broadcasting Systems.

Sources pointed out that the ADAG group may not be keen on producing the games any more, after having put in the bid a few months ago.

India Gate spruces up for Games

A rush of makeovers is steadily propelling Delhi to put forward its best foot before the Commonwealth Games next year. It is now time to take care of the Capital’s heart.

The Central Public Works Department has taken up the task of renovating the city’s famous landmark, the Central Vista — or the entire area surrounding the India Gate, including the Rajpath, the lawns flanking it and also the National Stadium.

The idea is to give it back its pristine look when India Gate was unveiled in 1931, Chief Architect of CPWD and Secretary of the Central Vista Committee R K Kakar told Newsline.

On the drawing board are flattening of the lawns, changing all damaged stones and vertical posts, also known as bollards, and cleaning up the area’s water bodies.

Longer-lasting granite bollards will replace the simple cemented ones all along the Rajpath. Parts of the iron chain that gatekeep the lawns along Rajpath have gone missing and will be put in place, Kakar said.

Kakar said level of the lawns has also increased over the years due to layers of manure and soil dumped on the surface regularly. Since the lawns have become elevated, the rains wash away the soil into the nearby water bodies, thereby choking them.

“We will flatten the lawns to their original level before planting fresh grass. We are also looking at ways to gather rain water around trees, so that the water does not flow down to the water bodies,” Kakar said.

Due to wear and tear, the Rajpath has also shifted course at places from the straight road it used to be. To make it appear straight, the CPWD has decided to keep the dust off the road, since dust dilutes boundaries.

For this, two strips of sandstone will now be placed on the entire stretch — one, between the Rajpath’s lawns and the bollards and the second, between the road and the red gravel sidewalks.

Both strips will act as buffers — so that dust from the flowerbeds does not reach the lawns and that from the sidewalks to the road. Without the dust flying around, the road will appear sharper, and seem straight, sources said.

At present, sandstone strips are being erected on an 80-metre stretch in the middle of Rajpath to check if the idea is feasible. Work on replacing bollards, the chains and cleaning the water bodies is also on. Besides this, the CPWD is also working on laying fresh footpaths of red sandstone on the Central Vista.

For the rest, CPWD is looking at a Republic Day deadline. Kakar said: “Finalising all details is an ongoing process. The spruce-up should be completed well before the Games.”

Ministry acts tough on age frauds, issues guidelines to federations

The Sports Ministry on Tuesday cited some of the measures it had taken up this year, including efforts to prevent age frauds, strengthening of anti-doping mechanism and increasing accountability of national federations.

In a press release, the ministry detailed the expenses and measures taken by the government to bring transparency in the functioning of sport federations and curb doping. The government sanctioned a budget of Rs. 1620 crore and appointed officials in various capacities in the Commonwealth Games organising committee to improve management and financial administration.

However, the most important actions came after the ministry took note of several cases of age fraud with specific guidelines being drafted and issued to National Sports Federations (NSFs).

The NSFs are now required to issue identity cards to national athletes, draw a clear policy with regard to submission of documents in support of age proof and medical procedure for verification in case of doubt and appeal procedures.

Action has also been undertaken to collect and maintain the data and documents with regard to legal, financial, management and operational status of NSFs.

The government also announced pocket allowance of $25 per athlete per day participating in any major international events aboard. Till now, the government was providing allowance only to participants in major multi-disciplinary events.

A comprehensive action plan has prepared to increase the annual sample testing capacity of NADA from the existing 2000 to 5000 in 2010 to meet the demands of the Commonwealth Games. The plan includes upgradation of technology, recruitment of manpower, availability of foreign experts and setting up of new test methods as per WADA guidelines.

Muslims angry at plan to ban city's thousands of donkeys

Plans to remove all working donkeys from India’s capital in a bid to clean-up the streets ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games have left hundreds of families fearing for their livelihoods.

Across Old Delhi there are an estimated 2,500 donkeys and mules usually carrying bricks to construction sites or removing concrete rubble from demolished buildings. They are led by their owners or labourers employed for the day to tend to the animals.

In October, officials from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and local police officers visited the owners of Delhi’s working donkeys and warned them their animals would have to be removed from the city soon. The move is part of a campaign by Delhi to gloss over its filthy streets and present itself as a “world class city” during the games next October by removing beggars, vagrants, rubbish and anything else that spoils this image – including the city’s working animals.

In parts of the old city nearly 1,500 mostly poor and illiterate Muslim families are directly dependant on donkeys and mules for their livelihood, estimated Yusuf Mohammed, a leader of Delhi’s horse, donkey and mule owners union. They are now waiting to see if the city’s authorities will take them away.

“We have been told, our animals will be impounded and we shall be thrown out of the city if we don’t leave Delhi [along with the donkeys] on our own.” said Sheruddin, as he fed and watered his two donkeys at their makeshift stable on the pavement after a day’s work clearing a demolition site in Old Delhi’s Turkman Gate area.

“For generations we have been doing this job in this city, along with these animals,” he said. “We cannot understand how our animals and us have suddenly turned into a nuisance for them now.”

Sheruddin, a 45-year-old who lives in a nearby slum with his wife and three children, said he was not sure what he would do if the plan to remove the animals goes ahead.

“We have nowhere to go. The government is not doing the right thing by being so cruel to us,” he said.

In Turkman Gate owners of about 250 working donkeys and mules are worried about their fate.

“MCD officials surveyed the area recently and we have been asked to remove all donkeys and mules and clean up the stables because, they said, they don’t look good in a beautiful city,” said Saleem Mohammed, who keeps two donkeys in the Turkman Gate stables and is the son of 76-year-old Yusuf Mohammed, the union leader.

“We were born and have grown up in this city. We have got our families settled here. Our children have been studying in local schools. We will be at sea if we are forced out of our native place now.”

Yusuf Mohammed said the animals have a 400-year-old medieval heritage which dates from when nomadic groups arrived from Multan and settled in Delhi to help construct the city in the early 17th century under the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

“They should not take an abrupt decision to throw out the animals without planning a proper rehabilitation package of our families and the animals,” said Mr Yusuf. “The process of real rehabilitation in this case will take long years because we cannot leave this traditional profession unless our younger children get enough education and find jobs in another world when they grow up.

“But before they decide to ban the animals in the city it must be debated in the first place whether the animals have really no longer fit in today’s or tomorrow’s Delhi.”

No one from the MCD or the police would comment on the ban on working animals, claiming that no official notice has yet been served. Yusuf Mohammed said that sources in the MCD had privately informed him that an official notice asking the donkeys and mules to be removed from the city was being prepared to be served to the animal owners next month. In an attempt to delay the plan, his union executives will meet the city officials and police next week.

For Mohammad Nazar, who owns two donkeys and one mule, the eviction cannot work. The 50-year-old believes that as congestion in the old part of the city grows and roads and lanes becomes narrower, construction companies will come to rely more on the donkeys and mules.

“Eighty per cent of construction sites in Old Delhi are not adjacent to bigger roads,” he said. “Inside most of the narrow winding lanes and by-lanes even mini vans cannot enter to bring in the bricks [to a construction site] or take out the rubble. Donkeys and mules cannot be outsmarted by any other mode here.

“As the population is growing, roads and lanes are getting narrower. In this situation I think the utility of the donkeys and mules is in fact increasing in Old Delhi. You don’t need them in well-planned modern parts of the city where most construction sites are connected with wide roads. But you need our animals in Old Delhi, where congestion is higher.”

To champion a cause

Cricketers, present and former, continue to play on a very nice wicket compared to other sportspeople in India.

And while nobody really resents the earnings of cricketers, the financial rewards for some other personalities in other disciplines is disgraceful.

Recently, the Times of India’s Biju Babu Cyriac touched the hearts of millions of readers when he wrote a story about Geetha Bai, a national level powerlifter who survives on selling polythene bags for a living in Mangalore, a town in southern India.

Geetha’s day kicks off at 5am when she boards a bus to reach the Mangala Stadium where she trains from 6.30am-9am. She then heads to the market half an hour later. She sells bags till 7pm – a job fetches that her Rs80-100 (Dh6-8) per day.

Sport personalities in India doing 9-5 jobs is common, but not for such a meagre return. And while there is no shame in doing an extra job to earn a living, selling bags is not something to be proud of.

Even before recession hit the Indian subcontinent, job opportunities dwindled for sports men and women. Corporate houses no longer believe it is great publicity when employees prosper at state and international level.

For them, productivity in the office counts for more. That is why we find even cricketers in certain cities such as Mumbai struggling to find good jobs.

Geetha explained the problem well. “Except for some help I got from the Mangalore City Corporation, I’ve been on my own. I want to continue powerlifting but don’t know how far I can go on like this. I want to compete in more international meets but there’s no way I can raise the money,” she was quoted as saying.

One wonders how many of her sport’s administrators read the last part of her quote. They should have been scampering to the sports ministry to help her survive. But Indian sport does not only lack performers of the highest calibre. Heart and soul among the people who call the shots is sorely missing too.

Champions cannot expect to achieve maximum performance with a poor diet. Geetha survives on just vegetables. Not because she is vegetarian but because she cannot afford meat, fish and chicken. Luckily her customers sometimes give her with money for a non- vegetarian meal to sustain her 95kg frame.

Geetha and fellow powerlifter Keerthi, who is a post-graduate and serves the Karnataka State Police, recently missed out on the Ekalavya Award from their state government when sports followers believed they deserved the honour.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports do have the machinery to help needy sportspersons, but their unimpressive budget, which by the way, only got revised last year after 14 years, is far too less.

The deplorable state of affairs concerning present and past sportspersons should question the logic of spending crores on a Commonwealth Games when sports in India could get a fillip if the same kind of money is used in building infrastructure and improving the lot of sportsmen and women, who are pleading for better facilities to compete with the best in business.

That the Commonwealth Games has a fresh set of fears in terms of Delhi being ready to host it next year is another matter. India’s sporting czars have a lot of answering to do to sports lovers who have lost hope about a sporting India. Geetha is just another case highlighted by the media, but there are thousands out there who do not have the courage to lash out at insensitive and corrupt officialdom.

Desperation could lead India’s sportspersons to undesired professions. Nisha Shetty, a state-level athlete turned to prostitution because she could not earn a decent living from her sporting endeavours.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India have to be lauded for their efforts to help sportspersons from other fields. But, probably, it is time our cricketers come together and start a foundation which could help deserving toilers.

Sachin Tendulkar does quite a bit of charity work and so do other members of the team. Forming a body like cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar’s “Champs” (Caring, Helping, Assisting, Motivating, Promoting Sportspersons) would mean going one step further.

Inspiration for cricketers is not very far away. The good work by former England great Sir Ian Botham will provide enough of it. The maverick cricketer-turned-commentator does not make a big noise of his charity work, but he has done some great things for society during and after his playing days.

In 1985, he did the first of his 11 charity walks which helped leukaemia patients and now plans another one next year which will mark the 25th anniversary of his first experience. Only recently, he made another trip to tsunami-hit Galle in Sri Lanka to lend a hand in a special project.

Ian Terence Botham has a heart of gold and India needs someone like him to assure their sportspersons a better tomorrow. If not, we will continue to hear and do nothing about cases of sporting poverty.

It is not the time to look too much into the past, but the fact is that Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav, independent India’s first individual Olympic medallist, died a pauper. Wrestler Jadhav won a bronze medal at the 1952 Helsinki Games and remained India’s only medal-winner until tennis player Leander Paes clinched bronze in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Jadhav got funds to make it to Helsinki with the help of a principal in Kolhapur (a town in Maharashtra state) who mortgaged his house to meet Jadhav’s ticket expenses. His end came in a road accident.

Come on champs, show you care.

Will CWG be a success in state of rising crimes, asks BJP

Members of Delhi BJP Trader Cell today staged a dharna here to protest against the ''deteriorating situation of law and order in Delhi'' and raised the question of safety in view of the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

Addressing the protestors, Delhi BJP President O P Kohli said, ''Recent crimes against businessmen in areas like Sadar Bazaar and Mundka show the apathy of the Sheila government.'' ''One cannot feel safe in the city even in broad daylight.

How will the Games be managed in such a scenario?'' he asked.

Expressing displeasure on the growing insecurity of businessmen, BJP State treasurer Praveen Khandelwal said, ''About three lakh traders come here from different parts of the country everyday for transactions. The Centre must take immediate steps to ensure their safety.'' He also informed the media that a delegation of traders met Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police Karnail Singh to impress upon the need of forming a joint committee representing police officials and traders.

Members of the Cell and other party workers shouted slogans against the Sheila government and later burnt 'Arthi' (funeral pyre) of anti-social elements.

Mr Kohli also informed mediapersons that a BJP delegation will soon meet Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna and Delhi Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal to demand a tighter curb on crimes against businessmen in the city.

David Millar ready to fight for Scotland

David Millar hopes to use the 2010 Commonwealth Games to repay Scottish cycling for their support since his return from a doping suspension.

The 32-year-old was given the go-ahead to compete in the event in Delhi next year after Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) reneged on its decision to ban him for life for using EPO.

"I am absolutely delighted with the decision," Millar, who served a two-year suspension from all cycling in 2004, said. "It would be an honour to race for Scotland and to give something back to the country that has given me so much.

"I am proud to be a Scot and feel that I have been supported incredibly through the bad times as well as the good by Scotland.

"I made mistakes as a younger athlete in a dirty sport, and I will have to live with those mistakes for the rest of my life, but I have changed and I know I bring something beneficial to not only cycling, but also sport as a whole."

Millar, part of the Garmin-Slipstream team, should have little trouble qualifying for the Scottish squad heading to India. He competed in the Tour of Italy and the Tour de France this year and won a stage on the Tour of Spain. "If the example I give and education I provide can prevent a younger version of me from making the same mistakes I made, then I could not ask for more," he said.

Jon Doig, the CGS chief executive, said: "The CGS board felt that since his return to cycling David has become an active campaigner and educator about doping in sport and has gone to great lengths to rehabilitate himself and share his experiences with others in an attempt to promote the anti-doping message."

Scotland lift Millar ban ahead of Delhi 2010

Cyclist free to make Commonwealth Games team after doping ban.

Cyclist David Millar will be allowed to compete for Scotland in next year’s Commonwealth Games after winning his appeal against a lifetime ban. The 32-year old was banned for two years by British Cycling after admitting to using EPO but Commonwealth Games Scotland imposed a lifetime ban.

The cyclist lodged an appeal with CGS and has now had his ban lifted with chief executive Jon Doig citing Millar’s anti-doping campaigning as a major reason for the decision. Millar has offered advice on anti-doping measures to British and world cycling bodies as well as to UK Sport.

"The CGS board felt that since his return to cycling David has become an active campaigner and educator about doping in sport and has gone to great lengths to rehabilitate himself and share his experiences with others in an attempt to promote the anti-doping message,” Doig said when announcing the decision.

"David has now been cleared to compete for Scotland in Delhi subject to achieving the necessary performance selection standards.”

It is likely that Millar will meet the selection standards without any problems and is now in line to compete in several events at the Delhi games. The road racer, who has won three stages at the Tour de France, expressed his relief at the decision to allow him to be selected.

"I am absolutely delighted with the decision,” he said

"It would be an honour to race for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and to give something back to the country that has given me so much. I am proud to be a Scot and feel that I have been supported incredibly through the bad times as well as the good by Scotland.

"I made mistakes as a younger athlete in a dirty sport, and I will have to live with those mistakes for the rest of my life, but I have changed and I know I bring something beneficial to not only cycling, but also sport as a whole.

"I have been so pro-active in my fight against doping because I believe I can make a difference and I also believe that the mistakes I made as an athlete were fully preventable.If the example I now give and education I provide can prevent a younger version of me from making the same mistakes I made, then I could not ask for more."

Though now almost certain to be part of the Scottish team that will travel to India, the door is still closed on a place at the next Olympics. The British Olympic Association take a harder stance against doping and will not consider Millar for London 2012.

Miller cleared to compete in delhi Commonwealth Games

Cyclist David Millar has been given the green light to compete for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games after appealing against his life ban.

Millar, 32, was banned from cycling for two years in 2004 after admitting to using EPO.

He has since campaigned against doping in sport and has returned to top-level professional cycling.

Commonwealth Games Scotland had banned him from competing for life in the Commonwealth Games, but have now been persuaded to let him compete in Delhi next year.

CGS chief executive Jon Doig said: "The CGS board felt that since his return to cycling David has become an active campaigner and educator about doping in sport and has gone to great lengths to rehabilitate himself and share his experiences with others in an attempt to promote the anti-doping message.

"David has now been cleared to compete for Scotland in Delhi subject to achieving the necessary performance selection standards."

Millar said: "I am absolutely delighted with the decision.

"It would be an honour to race for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and to give something back to the country that has given me so much.

"I am proud to be a Scot and feel that I have been supported incredibly through the bad times as well as the good by Scotland.

"I made mistakes as a younger athlete in a dirty sport, and I will have to live with those mistakes for the rest of my life, but I have changed and I know I bring something beneficial to not only cycling, but also sport as a whole.

"I have been so pro-active in my fight against doping because I believe I can make a difference and I also believe that the mistakes I made as an athlete were fully preventable.

"If the example I now give and education I provide can prevent a younger version of me from making the same mistakes I made, then I could not ask for more."

Millar should not struggle to meet the standards required for entry and he will look to compete in several events.

He is not eligible to ride at the Olympics as the British Olympic Association take a hard-line stance against drug offenders, but he has represented Britain in other major championships and has competed in the Tour de France since serving his ban.

Millar has offered guidance on drugs to UK Sport, British and world cycling bodies and the World Anti-Doping Agency, and CGS have confirmed he will deliver an anti-doping seminar to young Scottish athletes as a condition of his return to the Commonwealth Games team.

Delhi Games Baton Here Next Week -UGANDA

UGANDA's journey to the Commonwealth Games starts on December 30, with a three-day Queens Baton relay from Entebbe to Jinja.

The relay will go around the world in promotion of next year's Commonwealth Games due in New Delhi, India.

According to John Bosco Bananuka, the chairman of the Sports for All commission at the Uganda Olympic Committee, the baton, due to leave the country on January 2, 2010, will visit more destinations than in 2006.

"This time round we hope to reach different groups of people and give them a chance to feel it," Bananuka said , adding that there are plans to have it make a stop over at State House, Entebbe.

The baton left Buckingham Palace in November for a trip to the Commonwealth member states, and will make the final stop at the Games where the Queen's message will be read at the opening ceremony.

Uganda's Dorcus Inzikuru (3000m s/chase) and Boniface Kiprop (10000m) are preparing to defend titles they won at the 2006 Melbourne edition.

Arriving from Tanzania on December 30, the baton will go to the Equator, Naggalabi Coronation site, Suubi Watoto Village, Kasubi Tombs, Mildmay Centre and the Indian High Commission.

On December 31, revellers at Club Silk and Ange Noir will have a feel of it after another stop over at New Year's Day celebrations at the Sheraton.