Commonwealth Games 2010: Feb 18, 2010

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Transparency is the key word: Kalmadi

There are 227 days left for the start of the XIX Commonwealth Games, the biggest sporting event in India. And the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is satisfied with the progress. There is excitement in the air as the events to test the fields of play for the Games begin this week. They will give the venue owners the chance to correct any shortcomings before the Games.

Sadly, as we gear up for the task on hand, we have heard some talk of lack of transparency and accountability in the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi. Let me assure you that we want to - and have - set high standards of probity in public life. We know we have the team to conduct the Games in a manner that will not only be successful but also make Indians hold their heads high with pride.

The staff of around 1000 is headed by CEO Mr. Jarnail Singh, who has years of experience in Government. Transparency and accountability are the pillars of the OC, which wants to set benchmarks for financial discipline. We are covered by the RTI Act and welcome it. The Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi's Financial and Administrative Rules are a prudent mix of the Government Financial Rules and the rules of the CGF.

The Executive Board is the highest decision-making body of the OC and comprises two officials from the Indian Olympic Association, four from National Sports Federations, three from the Commonwealth Games Federation, two each from the Central and State Governments. We have also added the Additional Secretary, Ministry of Finance, to the Board. All financial decisions have been made - unanimously, I must add - by this Board.

The tender documents released by OC are in conformity with best practices. For, all draft tender documents are placed before and major financial decisions are made by a high-powered Finance Committee, which is sub-committee of the Executive Board. The Finance Committee includes a number of top officials from the Government. All expenses over Rs 50 lakh have to be approved by this Finance Committee before the proposal is placed before the Executive Board. And, there is an Audit Committee that looks at the expenses. It will also be pertinent to point out that we have not only internal audits but also completed three audits by the Comptroller & Auditor General of India.

None of these has brought out any major deficiencies in the rules or procedures followed by the OC. Isn’t that testimony to our transparency and efficacy of rules and procedures?

At the OC, we are well aware that ours is a revenue neutral budget; that we have to repay the Government of India the Rs 1620 crore loaned to us for the conduct of the Games. We are leaving no stone unturned to raise the monies from the sale of TV rights, sponsorships, ticket sales and merchandise.

We have already exceeded our revenue targets from sale of TV rights to major networks like Network Ten and Foxtel in Australia, South African Broadcasting Corporation, TV New Zealand, Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation, ABU in Malaysia, Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria and Namibia Broadcasting Corporation. We are in an advanced state of negotiation with BBC.

We have already got on board Air India, NTPC, Central Bank of India, Hero Honda and Coca Cola as our partners and are talking with a number of other corporates who see immense value in associating themselves with the Delhi 2010 brand.

And in conclusion, I have no doubt that our security personnel are geared up to provide the best protection for the Games Family. The Home Ministry and Delhi Police are committed to ensuring a safe and secure environment for the Games. The security personnel from all Commonwealth nations who attend the International Security Liaison Conference are convinced about that. And yes, I have no doubt we will host the best Games ever.

Commonwealth Games Ecological Code unveiled

Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi committed towards ensuring zero carbon footprint

The landmark ecological code for the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi, which aims to ensure reasonable consumption of electricity and water in all the stadiums, was unveiled today.

Releasing the ecological code along with Delhi Chief Minister Smt. Sheila Dikshit, Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, Chairman Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi Organising Committee, said, “this measure would go a long way to limit the carbon footprint in Delhi and would strive to make the XIX Commonwealth Games pollution free.”

Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Chairman, Green Games Sub-committee OC, CWG Delhi 2010 also acknowledged the Organising Committee 2010 Delhi initiative to launch the drive towards green games concept, educating people and creating awareness for environmental protection.

Speaking at the milestone achievement, Mr. Kalmadi, said, “Releasing of the code is the first step towards ensuring that we are successful in our mission of conducting the first ever green games in the history of the Commonwealth Games.”
The Organising Committee is deeply and passionately committed towards preserving and restoring the environment and establishing a benchmark for low carbon sporting events and will be successful in showcasing Delhi 2010 as sustainable “Green Games”, added Mr. Kalmadi.

In his concluding remark, Mr. Kalmadi, gently reminded everyone on the importance of preserving our environment, he said, “ Paidh Hai to Sher Hai”.

Smt. Dikshit, Delhi Chief Minister stated that “all stadia are being constructed to ensure reasonable consumption of electricity and water in stadia during the games.” “There is also focus on bio-diverse plantation to offset the carbon footprint”, she added.

Dr. Shashi Tharoor, reiterated that the XIX Commonwealth Games would be the “greenest Commonwealth Games ever.” He further went on to add that “the games would leave a legacy beyond roads and infrastructure; one of greater consciousness of the environment.”

MTNL to be official service provider for CWG

In a bid to provide a robust, effective and failure-proof system of telecommunication, the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) has been designated as the Telecom Service Provider for the Commonwealth Games, 2010.

The Cabinet on Thursday approved a budget of Rs.182 crore for the MTNL for this purpose.

This system will cater to the requirement of transmission of Games Data, Security Data, High Definition (HDTV) Broadcast signal etc. between Sports venues, International Broadcasting Centre, Main Press Centre, Master Control facilities etc.

With this support of Rs.182 crore from the Government, MTNL will establish an exclusive and dedicated telecommunication network to be obtained on Wet Lease inclusive of supply, installation, testing, commissioning, operation and maintenance and providing professional services.

The proposed network will comprise of two separate networks; the first network will provide coverage to all Games Applications, Administrative and Games Real Time Application, Video Surveillance for security agencies, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), Internet Services at all the designated venues alongwith management system. It will be called the Managed Data Network (MDN).

Whereas the second network will provide an exclusive coverage for video application to facilitate Uncompressed High Definition Studio to Studio, video transport from stadium to IBC and Cable Access TV (CATV) Broadcast Network. This network will be called the Broadcast Network (BN).

MTNL has planned network with multiple redundancy using high capacity Internet Protocol / Multi Protocol Label Switching (IP / MPLS) Technology. MTNL would also provide Dark Fibre alongwith IP/MPLS at no cost to the Government.

75-member CWG contingent finalised

A 75-member contingent of different sports has been finalised to represent the country in the Commonwealth Games being held in New Delhi from October 3-14.

This was stated by Lt Gen Syed Arif Hasan, President of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) at a news conference after a general council meeting of the body here on Thursday.

Pakistan will take part in athletics, swimming, boxing, hockey, squash, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling,he said, adding that, We have fair chance to win medals in tennis, weightlifting, wrestling and hockey.

He said tennis star Aisam ul Haq has confirmed his participation in the Games and his presence will be a big inspiration for Pakistan as he is a medal prospect.

We are in touch with sports ministry to start preparations for the Games as Pakistan will also be taking part in Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, Asian Games in China and Asian Beach Games in Muscat in 2010, he asserted.

The POA Chief was of the view that preparations should start as soon as possible and participation in three elite Asian events is a challenging task and requires adequate training and grooming of players in various disciplines.

He said that the Pakistan contingent for Youth Olympics to be held from August 20, Asian Games from November 12-27 and Asian Beach Games from December 8-18 will be finalised in consultation with the Pakistan Sports Board.

Union Cabinet approves 182 crore for MTNL

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved Rs.182 crore for Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, designated as the telecom service provider for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi, to create a dedicated telecommunication network for the mega event.

MTNL will establish an exclusive and dedicated telecommunication network to be obtained on a “wet lease” inclusive of supply, installation, testing, commissioning, operation, maintenance and providing professional services.
Fail-proof system

The main objective of this ambitious project is to provide a robust, effective and fail-proof system of telecommunication in the city during the Commonwealth Games in October this year.This system will cater to the requirement of transmission of Games data, security data, and high definition television broadcast signal between sports venues, international broadcasting centre, main press centre and master control facilities.

Union Cabinet approves 182 crore for MTNL

‘I want to transform DD into a premier entertainment & news broadcaster’

Hoping to cash in on the upcoming Commonwealth Games (CWG) telecast coverage, Aruna Sharma, director-general, Doordarshan, is aiming for a makeover. In a candid chat with FE’s Ashish Sinha, she shares glimpses of her vision for transforming Doordarshan from a procedure-centric entity to an outcome driven premier entertainment and news broadcaster in the next few years. Excerpts:

Have you signed a deal with SIS Live of the UK for high definition (HD) coverage of Commonwealth Games? If so, why is it taking time?

Everything has been sorted out. The deal should be inked in a day or two. Some administrative changes and approvals and consultations are required. SIS Live will handle the production coverage of the Games and train 300 Doordarshan staffers. Let me underline that financials of the SIS contract have not changed.

How are you planning to leverage the Games?

We will have a dedicated HD channel —DD India — that will carry the feed of CWG in HD format. The HD channel will be available on DD Direct Plus, our free-to-air DTH service. The coverage will also be available in standard definition formats. We are in talks with cable operators in Delhi and Mumbai who have promised to upgrade their cable infrastructure to carry DD’s HD channel on their network. Consumers of DD Direct Plus will be required to buy a higher-end set top box to enjoy the HD transmission of CWG.

The general perception of Doordarshan is not positive. How will you change it?

Yes, one tends to find a lot of negative reporting on Doordarshan. And, most are speculative. We are made to look as parasites living off government money which is not the case. This year, we will show through our accounts that our earnings are far more than what the government provides us. In fact, I am sure Doordarshan earnings in the current fiscal will be more than what it may have clocked in the last five years. Some of our entertainment shows are among the most watched in the country. Doordarshan will have to take fast decisions.

Can you share some financial numbers of Doordarshan for this fiscal?

I will provide detailed accounts in April. But from a January (2009) to January (2010) comparison, we may have crossed earnings of Rs 1,000 crore. In the current fiscal, we should outdo the record of Rs 947 crore earnings generated five years ago. There are several heads within Doordarshan that are not at all accounted for. I am putting them together (like the earnings from DD Direct Plus DTH). However, even without them, we should report higher earnings.

But criticism of Doordarshan is rooted in its functioning. For instance, there are no takers for its tenders on global distribution. What do you have to say on this?

Yes, I am aware of that (tenders have come out twice). If we have to function as a media company, which Doordarshan is, we will have to focus on the outcome rather than procedures. We are good in bringing out tenders and meticulous paper work but the desired results are not achieved. I would like to change that in due course. When we air entertainment shows, they compete for eyeballs with all other private channels. Why can’t they compete for advertising business too?

Surajkund block: motorists upset

Ravi Ranjan (37) left for work on 7 am at Thursday. The time he hoped to make it to his Nehru Place office — less than 20 kms away from his Surajkund home — was 9:30 am. Thanks to the traffic restrictions due to the Commonwealth games shooting championship at Dr. Karni Singh shooting range near Tughlaqabad, Ranjan, a human resource consultant, and many other commuters like him, have had a nightmarish stint with traffic the last couple of days.

On Wednesday, Ranjan was among thousands of people living in the upmarket colonies of Charmwood village, Green Field and residential apartments near Surajkund, who were caught off guard due to closure of the Surajkund Road.

The Delhi traffic police had closed the road, which connects Surajkund in Faridabad with the Mehrauli - Badarpur Road in Delhi, on Wednesday morning to provide more security to the shooting range, the venue for the Commonwealth shooting championship.

The five-kilometre Surajkund Road stretch is used by those who live near Surajkund or want to avoid Badarpur Border, which remains clogged due to the construction of a flyover and a metro line.

Lack of Coordination

“The traffic restrictions were put in place by Delhi traffic police without any information to us,” said Raj Kumar, assistant commissioner of police (traffic), Faridabad.

“We were left with no option but to divert traffic from Surajkund round about towards Prahladpur,” Kumar added.

The traffic restriction will remain in place from 7 am to 6 pm on the Surajkund Road till February 28.

Delhi traffic police officers agreed that there was a “small lapse” in issuing an advisory tand “coordination issue” with the Faridabad traffic police.

“But a few things (regarding the traffic plan) were finalised only at the last minute,” joint commissioner of police (traffic) Satyendra Garg said.

Lessons learnt

Garg said the traffic police in Delhi reinforced its arrangements to ensure that the motorists were not inconvenienced. Many traffic policemen were deployed at congestion points to guide motorists.

“Though the volume of traffic was high, the situation was much improved because the traffic management was better and the motorists were also informed,” Garg said.

India Home Minister calls for calm

Amid concerns that fresh terrorist threats may cause international sportsmen to drop out of tournaments in India, Home Minister P Chidambaram said Wednesday adequate security would be provided to all visiting players.

Responding to a question on a recent warning by the chief of a Kashmiri militant organization that international sportsmen should not visit India, Chidambaram said: ""All security would be provided to players."

The Asia Times online newspaper claimed it had received a message Monday from Ilyas Kashmiri, chief of the militant Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, warning international players against visiting India. Kashmiri's outfit is said to be an operational arm of the al-Qaeda.

"We warn the international community not to send their people to 2010 Hockey World Cup, IPL (Indian Premier League cricket) and Commonwealth Games ... Nor should their people visit India - if they do, they will be responsible for the consequences," the message reportedly said.

The mail came two days after a terrorist bomb blast in a bakery popular with foreign visitors in the southern Indian city of Pune.

Eleven people died in the blast which was the first significant terrorist attack in India after the assault by 10 gunmen in financial hub Mumbai in November 2008.

New Zealand hockey officials said they were delaying departure of the national team for the World Cup in India as they further assessed the situation.

The hockey tournament is scheduled to be held in the Indian capital from February 28 to March 13.

"No one would be allowed to dictate terms to us," Chidambaram said at a press briefing after a security review meeting in Jammu, summer capital of India's northern Jammu and Kashmir state.

"Ilyas Kashmiri cannot dictate our course of action."

he disputed Kashmir region is divided into two parts, one administered by India and the other by Pakistan.

India has accused Pakistan of aiding and abetting separatist militants like Kashmiri. Pakistan denies the charge calling them freedom fighters.

India's Home Ministry on Monday reviewed security arrangements for four upcoming sporting events. Besides the hockey tournament, these are the Commonwealth Shooting Championship (February 17-28), the Indian Premier League cricket matches (March 13 to April 25) and the Commonwealth Games (October 3 to 14).

Federal Home Secretary GK Pillai said the government had put in place an elaborate arrangement for the shooting and hockey tournaments which are both to be held in Delhi.

"We are in close touch with security liaison officers of all countries that are coming here to participate. So far, all of them have seen the preparations done by the Delhi Police and the Home Ministry and they are quite satisfied."

Sportsmen have been wary of visiting Pakistan and India for tournaments after a spate of bombings in india in 2007 and 2008, the Mumbai incident and a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan's Lahore in March 2009.

Comedy of errors at C'Wealth Shooting opening

Fumbling officials and organisational chaos marked the opening of the Commonwealth Shooting Championships today where IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi stunned one and all by conceding that there are bound to "be some security lapses" in mega events like these.

Inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, the function turned out to be a comedy of errors where the mike malfunctioned at the most inopportune times, most jarringly when Commonwealth Games' multiple gold medallist pistol shooter Samresh Jung took the competitors' oath.

As Jung read out the oath, flanked by star trap shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu, the poor sound system blurred out a part of the oath.

Security personnel outnumbered the 146 shooters -- 46 of whom Indian -- at the ceremony, also attended by Commonwealth Shooting Federation chief Graham Hudson, IOA secretary general Randhir Singh, Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Mike Hooper and officials from the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI).

A demonstration on sports casualty management had the sparse audience in splits as shooters were shown a skit on how injuries are dealt with on a hockey field, prompting Hudson to say, "It's so reassuring to see that medical help is at hand but we have quicker ways to deal with injuries in shooting." But the faux pas by Kalmadi, also the CWG Organising Committee chief, took the cake.

"There would be some security lapse here and there but everybody would be safe. All the foreign athletes are very happy with the security," he claimed.

Among other things he said, Kalmadi once again insisted that the infrastructure would be ready well in time for the Commonwealth Games in October.

"All the infrastructure would be ready in time. A few days here and there but it would all be world class. The Games Village would be better than the one we saw in the Beijing Olympics," he said.

The NRAI, embroiled in a court case over the tenure of its officials, chose to introduce its newly-appointed

President Avatar Singh Sethi as a Competition Manager.

Singh didn't even find a place on dais where now former former President Digvijay Singh sat in capacity of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) vice-President alongside Randhir and Dikshit.

Speaking on the tournament, Hudson said despite the many hiccups it has experienced in the past few months, the event would be a success.

"Obviously there is a lot of work to be done but once it is complete, this complex would be like any other in the world. The facilities here are the very latest and this would be a great test event for the Commonwealth Games.

The competition starts tomorrow and the tournament would conclude on February 27. Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra couldn't make the Indian team for the tourney after failing to turn up for the trials last year.