Invited Kalmadi skips inauguration

The Sports Ministry invited Suresh Kalmadi to the unveiling of the Karni Singh shooting range today but the OC chairman skipped the event.

The Ministry was criticised for ignoring the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee in the January 24 inauguration of the National Stadium.

Kalmadi was conspicuous by his absence in the event, citing prior commitments in Pune, and even though OC vice chairman Randhir Singh attended the ceremony, he made it clear that he was here as a former marksman.

"I'm not here to represent OC. I got an invitation as a former shooter," Singh told reporters.

Kalmadi, on his part, issued a statemwent from Pune in which he expressed happiness at the completion of the under-construction range and said his preoccupation kept him away.

"As a dedicated Member of Parliament, I have to be committed to my work beyond all else," Kalmadi said.

"I am happy and proud that world class sports infrastructure is being opened well in time for the Commonwealth Games. I was at the opening of the Ludlow Castle training centre for wrestling the other day and must say that my heart swelled with pride at the facilities on offer to the athletes," Kalmadi said.

The Sports Ministry earlier drew flak for not inviting OC members when the National Stadium -- venue of Commonwealth Games hockey events -- was declared to the nation on January 24.

2,000 vehicles to be hired by Delhi police for Games

Delhi police will hire over 2,000 vehicles, including 1,200 cars and 630 buses, during the Commonwealth Games, for various jobs like escorting sportsmen and deploying Quick Reaction Teams.

Plans are also there to hire drivers for running these vehicles — around 1,200 cars and multi-utility vehicles, 630 buses and 215 light commercial vehicles like Tata 407 — during the Games to be held in October this year.

The vehicles which are being hired will be used in deploying QRTs, escorting sportsmen to their venues and back to the Games village and for deployment of personnel for law and order duties, a senior police official said.

Around 750 to 1,000 ambassador cars and multi-utility vehicles along with drivers are being hired for escorting sportspersons and for deployment of QRTs for a period of 20 to 25 days.

"No vehicle supplied should be more than two years old, and their mileage should be less than 60,000 km. The colour of the car should be white only," the official said.

Another 250 cars with drivers will be rented by police for other uses during the Games. For this, vehicles should be model 2001 onwards.

Police are also planning to hire 630 buses and 215 Light Commercial Vehicles with drivers for deploying security personnel, and for law and order arrangements.

"The vehicles will be hired for a period of one month from September 15," the official said.

37 more CCTVs for Delhi airport

Keeping in mind the security needs of Commonwealth Games, the Delhi Police is planning to install 37 more CCTVs at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here to ensure better monitoring of the facility as well as its periphery.

With this, the total number of CCTVs in the IGI will rise to 559.

The domestic terminal of the IGI presently has 325 CCTVs while the international terminal has 197 -- both on the city side and and air side.

"At the initiative of airport police and DIAL, the operator of Delhi airport, a network of CCTVs are installed in the airport. Thirty-seven more CCTVs are to be installed soon," a senior police official said.

These CCTVs are likely to monitor the periphery of the airport, the official said.

"The monitoring of criminals and anti-social elements through these CCTVs on the city side helps in enhancing security of the area and provide footage when required for investigation of a criminal case or enquiry into safety and law and order issues," the official said.

Asked about reports that some CCTVs in the airport were non-functional, the official said all the machines are fully functioning. "With the Commonwealth Games round the corner, we along with DIAL and other security agencies have spruced up the security system," he said.

With CWG nearing, activities picks up in hospitality sector

As countdown begins for the Commonwealth Games, activity picks up in the tourism and hospitality sector to cater to needs of the huge tourist inflow expected during the sporting event.

As the date for the Commonwealth Games nears, the Tourism sector has been witnessing a lot of activity in a bid to prepare Delhi for housing the nearly 1,00,000 tourists expected in Delhi from across the World during the sporting event.

With an estimated requirement of 40,000 additional rooms in the NCR region to host the huge number of tourist arrivals, the Tourism Ministry has been offering several incentives to the hospitality sector in a bid to speed up the development of hotel rooms before the Commonwealth Games, scheduled in October.

Sources in the Ministry said the Finance ministry has been urged to extend the benefits of the five-year tax holiday for hotels under construction in the national capital region (NCR) up to July 31, instead of the earlier deadline of March 31.

The five-year tax holiday for budget hotels was introduced to attract hospitality chains to build more hotels in the NCR region.

No wonder then, the recent months have witnessed renowned hospitality chains speed up the process of development and start operations in the NCR.

Sarovar Hotels and Resorts, a leading hotel management company in India, last fortnight launched a premium business hotel in the NCR.

Optus Sarovar Premiere, the new premium business hotel launched by the company at Gurgaon on January 12, would help to meet the huge demand for premium accommodation in the NCR.

The new 80 room hotel is the group's third in Gurgaon, with Park Plaza at Sushant Lok and Park inn at Civil Lines, already operational.

Talking to UNI, the Managing director of the Sarovar Hotels and Resorts, Anil Madhok said the opening of the new hotel was a step by the company in the direction of meeting the huge need for premium accommodation during the Games.

''The opening of the hotel seeks to fill the ever increasing demand for business and leasure hotels in the Capital and the NCR. With the launch of Optus Sarovar Premiere, Sarovar hotels now offers accommodation to guests at various price points in Gurgaon,''Madhok said.

With the opening of the Optus Sarovar Premiere, Sarovar hotels has now operational five premium hotels in Delhi and the NCR with a total accommodation of 310 rooms.

Mr Madhok said in the coming days Sarovar Hotels planned to launch another six premium hotels at Hari Nagar, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Shahdara with a total accommodation of over 500 rooms.

''By October, when the Commonwealth games are scheduled to be held, we would have established a total of 11 hotels in Delhi and the NCR with a total accommodation of 900 to 1000 rooms,''Madhok said.