Plan panel cuts budget for CWG campaign

Planning Commission has turned down tourism ministry's demand for an additional Rs 50 crore for overseas promotion of Commonwealth Games and has instead cut down its budget. The ministry had asked for a hike of Rs 50 crore for special promotion keeping in view the forthcoming Games but is now faced with a budget cut of Rs 50 crore.

The lack of coordinated publicity before a high profile sporting event could end up damaging the whole purpose of hosting the Games and pitching India as a tourist destination, the ministry feels. The ministry's budget was Rs 1,000 crore for 2009-2010. Of this, Rs 250 crore was allocated for overseas marketing and promotion while Rs 60 crore was left for domestic promotion. "Plan panel has not only rejected our demand for more funds but also cut our budget from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 950 crore," a source said.

Distorted map puts Games Federations on the mat

The Commonwealth Games Federation on Tuesday found itself in the eye of a storm for putting up a distorted map of India on its website.

The blunder came to light on the Republic Day, forcing the embarrassed officials of the federation to correct the map and apologise to the nation.

“It was a mistake and we apologise for it,” CEO Mike Hooper said.

The Indian map on http://www.thecgf.com showed some areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat as parts of Pakistan. The corrected version, uploaded within hours of a media storm, shows these areas as Indian territories.

Once the mistake came to light, the organisers of the 2010 Commonwealth Games claimed they had brought it to the CGF’s notice. “We have noticed it and told CGF officials about it. They have promised to get back to us,” Organising Committee secretary Lalit Bhanot said.

The run-up to the Games, which will be held here from October 3 to 14, has already seen a series of controversies, with the federation and the Organising Committee constantly at loggerheads over the pace of preparations.

Plan to promote CW Games abroad

The Tourism Ministry has chalked out plans to intensify overseas promotion of the Commonwealth Games to be held in the Capital in the second half of this year. In April-June quarter, the Tourism Ministry will organise promotion shows in various overseas capital cities including Toronto, Sydney, Auckland, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Mr Sujit Banerjee, Tourism Secretary, told Business Line.

He also made it clear that the Tourism Ministry will not undertake domestic promotion for the Commonwealth Games 2010. “The Delhi Government will have to do the promotion of the games within India. It has agreed to do that,” sources in the Ministry said. The Tourism Ministry had a budget allocation of Rs 250 crore for promoting India in overseas markets during the current fiscal.

Till end December this fiscal, the Ministry has already spent Rs 142 crore for overseas promotion, sources said. For promotion of domestic tourism, the Ministry had budget of Rs 60 crore, of which Rs 35 crore has been spent till December 2009.

Distorted Indian map posted on CWG website

The 2010 Commonwealth Games ran into further controversy today as the CGF mistakenly displayed a distorted map of India on its official website.

The map displayed parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat as parts of Pakistan, drawing severe criticism and protests from several quarters.

The uproar forced the embarrassed Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) officials to correct the map and apologise to the nation for the mistake.

CGF CEO Mike Hooper, left red-faced by the gaffe, appolised for the error and clarified that the map has been corrected.

''It was a mistake and we offer our sincere apologies for it,'' Hooper told reporters.

''It was a mistake and we took immediate steps to correct it as soon as it came to our notice,'' he added.

The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee claimed they were the first to notice the mistake and brought it to the CGF's attention.

''We have noticed it and told CGF officials about it. They have promised to revert to us on the issue,'' Organising Committee secretary Lalit Bhanot said.

''The CGF has informed us that it was done by mistake and they have rectified the error,'' he added.

Kookaburras unperturbed by security threats in India

Even as the security concerns in the Indian Capital have become a raging issue, Australian men's hockey captain Jamie Dwyer claims the Kookaburras will travel New Delhi for both the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games this year.

The hockey team's visit to New Delhi for the next month's World Cup will also come at a time when relations between India and Australia have taken a wrong turn following the attacks on Indians Down Under. The Hockey World Cup will also serve as a test of security arrangements for the Commonwealth Games which are also to be staged in the Capital in October.

There have been reports that the World Cup and Commonwealth Games could see a possible attacks by the terrorists but Dwyer said the team was comfortable with the security arrangements and had been briefed by a member of the coaching panel who visited India recently.

''We just like to be informed. We want to know everything like where we're staying and about the venue, but we want to go,'' Dwyer told AAP.

The World Cup will be staged at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium, the same venue to be used for the Commonwealth Games hockey tournament.

Dwyer said he had enjoyed playing in India previously, and was looking forward to the March 2 World Cup pool match against the host nation.

''India is a massive hockey nation and the crowds are very vocal. Our second game's against them and it's going to be massive.

''Wherever India play there's a great atmosphere and it's going to be great,' he added.

We apologise for mistake in India map: CGF CEO Mike Hooper

The Commonwealth Games Federation was embroiled in a controversy today because of a distorted India map put on its website earlier onTuesday.
The map of India on www.thecgf.com showed some areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat as parts of Pakistan as organisers of the 2010 Commonwealth Games said they raised the issue with CGF officials.

"We have noticed it and told CGF officials about it. They have promised to revert back to us on the issue," Organising Committee secretary Lalit Bhanot said.

"They would definitely correct it. We were told that they would talk to the people who maintain the site and get back to us," added Bhanot.

"It was a mistake and we apologise for it," CGF CEO Mike Hooper said. Hooper said the goof-up was entirely unintentional. "It was not intentional but we have rectified the matter immediately. And we certainly apologise to all concerned," Hooper said.

"We generally use reliable sources for the territory of the Commonwealth countries but we are going to double check all of those again," said the CGF official.

The corrected version, uploaded within hours of a media storm, now shows these areas in Indian territory.

Commonwealth website shows J-K, Gujarat in Pak

In a major blooper the website of Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) shows parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat belonging to Pakistan.

Just eight months before the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi, the official website of the Federation is carrying a distorted map of India.

The website is owned and operated by the Commonwealth Games Federation.

The Delhi Games Organising Committee says that Commonwealth Games Federation will be asked to rectify the mistake.

Secretary General, Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, Lalit Bhanot said, “It wasn't cleared by Delhi OC. It has escaped our notice but the fact remains as soon as it came to our notice, we spoke to them and asked them where they had picked it.”

Meanwhile, the CGF Chief executive Officer Mike Hooper, “It’s an honest mistake. It's been there for 5 years. We relied on our site developers. We apologise for it and have removed it."

The Commonwealth Games have already been marred by controversies related mainly to tardy preparation of infrastructure. Usually it's the Organising Committee that is pulled up by the Games Federation for the slow preparation of infrastructure.

However, this time the tables have turned. It's the Games Federation that's in the firing line for a major blunder.