Commonwealth tournament cancelled

The Commonwealth Basketball Championships, due to take place in New Delhi in August, have been cancelled by the game's governing body FIBA.

The event, and the subsequent Commonwealth Games in the city, have been the subject of concerns over organisational and security issues, but FIBA is instead believed to have cancelled the competition because of scheduling conflicts.

A FIBA spokesman has confirmed to the Press Association that the championships have been cancelled, though a more detailed statement is expected later on Friday.

The news comes after reports that Australia had requested a postponement of the competition until 2011 to resolve clashes in the basketball calendar.

The sport was not included in the Commonwealth Games program for 2010 and will not form part of the 2014 Games in Glasgow.

New Delhi course will prepare journalists to cover the Commonwealth Games

Sports journalists, freelancers, media graduates and advanced media students in India are invited to a workshop in New Delhi from February 16 to 20 that will prepare journalists to report on the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

Topics to be covered include: Where to get information on Commonwealth Games; Sports Centres and Media centres in Delhi; How to prepare as a Reporter; Planning pre-Games stories; Reporting action stories; Writing Profiles of sportsmen; Podcasting the games on the net; and Telling the Games story in multimedia format.

Interested candiates can obtain a Registration Form from the YMCA Institute of Media Studies and Information Technology (Jai Singh Road, New Delhi - 110001) between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, or by sending an e-mail to info@imii.co.in.

Commonwealth Games a big opportinity: Selja

Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja has described the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi as a big opportunity to showcase India's beauty and its rich cultural diversity.

Inaugurating the newly renovated Hotel Janpath in the Capital here last night, the Minister said,''Commonwealth Games is a big opportunity for all of us in India. Thousands of athletes and tourists from all over the World will come to India during the Games and witness the country's rich cultural diversity and its beauty.'' Addressing reporters at the inauguration of the hotel, which has been designated as the Games family hotel, the Minister, however, said all stakeholders involved in the Games had to pitch in for timely completion of the infrastructure pertaining to the Games.

''All the stakeholders have to pitch in for timely completion of tourist infrastructure for the Games,'' Ms Selja said.

Hotel Janpath has undergone an extensive makeover, to bring it on par with global quality standards, to host the international delegates of the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

The newly inaugurated hotel now boasts of 148 renovated rooms including 20 suites, which are functional yet luxurious.

The lobby of the hotel has been completely re-designed to give an impression of a lavish entrance, and is reminiscent of Lutyen's architectural theme.

To give a grand look, the double height lobby has been adorned with massive imported crystal chandeliers from Czech Republic and Italian marble flooring which adds to the hotel's exuberance.

The entire look of the hotel has been designed to project Indian extravagance. While the original structure of Hotel Janpath is intact, several contemporary additions have been made to appeal to the world traveler.

The hotel exterior has been adorned with tinted glasses to give a classy appearance to the entire façade.

To appeal to a global palette, Hotel Janpath will now offer extensive cuisines ranging from Italian and Mediterranean to Mangalorean and North Indian.

The renovation of Janpath Hotel is part of the endeavour by the India Tourism Development Corporation to renovate the state-run hotels Asoka, Samrat and Janpath to create a world class ambience to cater to the foreign tourists expected to throng the city during the International sporting event, scheduled to be held in October.

Talking to UNI on the occasion, Director (Commercial and Marketing) Rajiv Makkar said a total budget of of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for the renovation of the three hotels.

The target date for completion of the renovation process is March 31, 2010, he said.

SAG: Medals galore but where is cash incentive?

Indian athletes have swept the South Asian Games, fetching medals in almost all the disciplines but there has been no cash incentive or encouragement from the government, lamented chef-de-mission Paresh Nath Mukherjee.

He said the government only rewards the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games' heroes but ignores those who shine at South Asian Games.

Urging the government and corporates to encourage the South Asian Games medal winners, Mukherjee said the mindset has to change.

"As a nation, in the arena of sport, We get maximum number of medals at the South Asian Games. Our national pride in the field of sport is established in the SAF region. Medals galore but where is the cash incentive for our sport persons?" he asked.

"In Asian Games there are cash incentives, for Commonwealth Games there are cash incentives but for the winners in South Asian Games, where we reign supreme, there is no cash award," Mukherjee told PTI.

"In Olympic Games, we are nowhere, we are not a force in Asian Games either. But we don't give any importance to South Asian Games. As we win, we think it's no competition.

"First we must talk about all the medals in SA Games, then we must talk about Asian Games then we should aim for Olympics. But in our country, we are thinking of Olympic Games without giving any importance to South Asian Games," Mukherjee said.

"It should be most important for us. Here we matter. It has to be like a ladder. First you excel in class 10, then you graduate and then you post-graduate. You cannot think of becoming a post-graduate before clearing class 10," he quipped.

"We must realise how important these game are for us. The government should encourage the winners by paying at least Rs 2 lakh, Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 each to gold, silver and bronze medals. Similarly they must think about some incentives for the team medal winners. They must encourage.

"It will not cost them more than a couple of crores. We are spending millions on foreign coaches, can't we encourage the medal winners by giving them some cash incentive?" he asked.

He also criticised the media for not giving enough coverage to South Asian Games.

"For Olympic games, you would see a lot of media delegation following. But there is hardly any coverage for these Games. This mindset has to be change and media has to play a role in changing the mindset," he added.

At the midway stage, India dominate the medals tally with 20 gold, six silver and eight bronze medals.

Implementation of labour laws at games sites welcomed

Better late than never - so says civil society, responding to the Delhi High Court's decision to appoint a committee to ensure implementation of labour laws in the Commonwealth Games project sites.

We definitely welcome the High Court's decision. We were the main petitioner in the case and although this decision should have come long time back, we are happy that it has come at last, Moushumi Basu, secretary, People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) told IANS.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday appointed a four-member committee constituting the labour commissioner and the labour secretary of the Delhi government, former Indian ambassador to the US Arundhati Ghosh and special rapporteur of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Lakshmidhar Mishra to ensure that the workers' rights in the games sites are not violated.

The court Jan 27 had issued notices to the central government, Delhi government, Sports Authority of India and all concerned civic agencies after hearing a petition filed by the PUDR, which stated that as many as 49 workers had died due to harsh and miserable working conditions.

There are accidents happening at the construction sites and access to basic amenities are denied to the workers. It becomes even more difficult for NGOs to work for the workers because we are denied access to the sites- not even the media is allowed in them, Basu said.

The formation of this committee will now at least pressurise the labour department to make sure that the workers are registered and ensure that their rights are not denied. Can you imagine if gross violations like not paying the minimum wage to a worker can happen in the national capital, what is the state elsewhere? she asked.

According to the Citizens for Workers, Women and Children, an umbrella NGO of other organisations, blatant violations of workers' rights take place at the games construction sites.

In a public hearing of the workers' plight last year, a number of labourers who work at the games sites said that they were paid less than the stipulated minimum wages- the rest being usurped by the contractors.

Unskilled workers are paid Rs.85-100 for eight hours of work, when the stipulated minimum wage is Rs.142. Skilled workers on the other hand are paid Rs.120-130 for eight hours of work, when they should be paid Rs.158, said Rajesh Das, an activist.

Not just this, the workers are not given leave and in many cases, not even paid regularly. Most of them are not given basic safety equipment while at work and if the worker is a woman, the pay is even more paltry, Das added.

The court's decision is welcome news. The workers' rights must be respected and basic access to facilities should be ensured, Das further said.

The court has asked the committee to meet Feb 8 to ensure implementation of the Labour Law Act.

Let's see how the decision shapes up now. The committee will give its report and I hope things work out for the best and we at least have access to the games construction sites, Basu said.