Delhi seeks Rs 2k crore in Budget

Reeling under huge cost overruns for the Commonwealth Games projects, the Delhi government has sought a special assistance of Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre in the Union Budget to meet its revenue shortfall. The Delhi government has written to the finance ministry requesting it to help tide over the situation arising out of huge spending on infrastructure development in the run-up to the mega sporting event, finance minister AK Walia said.

“We have sought over Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre in the Budget as special assistance to meet the growing expenses on account of the Games,” Walia said in an interview. The minister also forecast a financial shortfall in the next fiscal and said the government had small savings of Rs 11,000 crore which helped it to a great extent in meeting the increasing expenses on Games-related projects this year.

“The small saving fund helped us in tide over the situation. As the small saving fund is going to be exhausted soon, either we will have to increase our revenue generation or cut down on expenses,” he said. Officials in the finance department said cost-overruns of almost all the projects relating to the Games have been making a severe dent on the exchequer.

The economic slowdown also had a severe impact on its finances as the city government’s revenue generation reported a fall of over Rs 1,300 crore in tax collection last fiscal.

Delhi in my heart

Inauguration of Delhi Urban Platform, an initiative to discuss the city — its past, present and possibilities

A mood for nostalgia, a sense of intransience and a cautious sanguinity about the future encompassing Delhi the city, thickened the enclosed air of the old library at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies on Delhi's Rajpur Road this past week. Surrounded by stacks of books, the setting was faultless for a studious debate, about the city we call ours and the trajectories that it has taken over millennia to be where it is today. And to take part in it were not just a string of speakers with proficiency in history and sociology, but a lot of university students, many filling up the chairs, some taking the corners between the book shelves, some others squatting on the floor — all wide-eyed, all ears and prepared to pipe up with questions.

Ravi Sundaram, one of the heads behind this brand new initiative of CSDS named Delhi Urban Platform, gave a spin to its inaugural meeting by stating, “There are a lot of unanswered questions about what kind of a city Delhi is today?” With the Commonwealth Games looming over Delhi, and bringing along with it many physical changes to the city considered sleepy till late, it is time, he insists, there should be a debate involving not just scholars and students, but individuals from different walks of life on the past, present and the possibilities of it.

“There is a lot of instability about Delhi's future, which is actually an asset,” for it gives people space to deliberate on which way the city should drift, he said, calling for “a critique of possibilities of Delhi” via DUF.

Narayani Gupta, a seasoned historian and part of the Conservation Society of India, pointed out how many people were as worried about Delhi during the Asiad as “you all are before the Commonwealth Games.” She also noted some of the fall-outs of the Asiad Games, “like the jhuggi-jhopri colonies” and also constructive initiatives “like INTACH”. She called attention of those assembled on the increasing trend of shutting off public spaces for people's use. “For instance, there is a park east of Red Fort called Delhi Chalo Park. Unfortunately, you can't ‘chalo' there as it is closed for public use, then there is the case of ice-cream vendors who are being moved away from India Gate. So many people go there for that experience.”

Nostalgia

Yet another speaker, well-known sociologist Amita Baviskar marvellously weaved in whiffs of nostalgia by talking about the city “in our memories” and the changes borne by Delhi in the process of “seeking a world class status.” She brilliantly touched upon life — then and now, “between the Ridge and the river”, “the air of rundown-ness about Delhi the Sarkari city of the 1980s”.

The event, divided into two sessions, also featured speakers like Awadhendra Saran, AGK Menon and Gautam Bhan. Among other interesting thoughts and questions that floated about the vibrant discussion was “thinking about what we should preserve and what to let go” about the city, and also how Delhi, unlike present-day Mumbai, doesn't have a brigade of assertive locals. To Sundaram's credit, he responded to it by saying, “There is still a lot of hate against Muslims in the city, it is still very difficult to find a house for a Muslim tenant.” Though there was no mention of the growing prejudice against the northeasterners in the city, one hoped DUF takes it up too in one of its deliberations.

Haryana to provide additional 6,644 rooms during CWG

The Haryana Government will provide additional 6,644 rooms during the Commonwealth Games to be held in the national capital this year.

Besides this, the rooms and infrastructure of Haryana Tourism complexes are also being upgraded to meet the requirement of Commonwealth Games, an official release said here today.

A number of steps has been taken by the State Tourism Department to provide all basic facilities to the players and visitors during the upcoming event.

Earlier, Haryana Tourism had introduced online room booking system at the important tourist complexes run by the Department.

DU plans 2-day sport event for disabled

Before the participants of the Commonwealth Games take over the grounds of Delhi University in a few months, some really 'special' players are coming to show the true sportsman spirit on the campus. Their limitations notwithstanding, the disabled students from various colleges of DU will come together for a first-of-its-kind sports meet in DU on March 6 and 7.

"We have a lot of differently-abled students who are good in sports. In fact, we even have a football team of visually-impaired students from different colleges. The team recently won a trophy in a tournament organised by the Blind Relief Association," said Dr Chandra Nisha Singh, officer on special duty, Equal Opportunity Cell. The cell is organising the two-day event.

"Similarly, we have a number of students interested in athletics. There is a great enthusiasm among the differently-abled students for sports. So we want to encourage them to come out through such a sports meet."
EOC has planned to hold events like Javelin Throw, Short Put and races of all kinds besides a chess tournament at Shri Ram College of Commerce which will be held on February 27 and 28.

The sports meet is one of the several initiatives taken up by the EOC to give a level playing field to the differently-abled students on the campus. "We have given a free choice to the students in the games. They can participate in any sport available. There will be no trials or any selection process," Singh said.

According to the EOC, there won't be any special training before the games for the differently-abled students willing to participate. "Most of the students have sports coaches or special trainers in their respective colleges. But even if a student runs for the first time, we will be happy to have him," Singh added.

Traffic cops finalize Commonwealth Game plan

The ongoing fiasco on the Delhi-Faridabad routes, where lakhs of Delhiites got stuck in endless traffic jams after a Surajkund Road, a vital link between the two towns, was unceremoniously shut off as part of security arrangements for Commonwealth shooting event has left people wondering what's in store for them when the actual Games happen in the city in October this year. With multiple events taking place in several parts of the city for 11 days, and traffic volumes remaining the same, the traffic police say they have a "challenging" job at their hands.

The solution to the mess, Intelligent Traffic Signals (ITS), is also not going to take off by October as the tender process has been delayed. The cops say they have drawn up a comprehensive plan to ensure that the Commonwealth Games pass off well. "What is seen as Surajkund Road was a venue-specific problem. The access road to the shooting range is very narrow and the alternative routes are choked due to construction. The traffic plans for the Commonwealth Games have been finalized and several measures are being undertaken to ensure there is no inconvenience," said a senior traffic police official. Times City finds out how.

Improved road capacity and infrastructure upgradation

All the ongoing construction activity in the capital is going to end by September. Of this, a large number of projects will be completed in the next four months including flyovers, streetscaping of roads, Metro lines, work on stadiums and approach roads. With this, a lot of additional road space will be available for flow of traffic and the new projects will ease congestion at several points as the flyovers, underpasses, Metro lines, footpaths, foot overbridges will be available for use.

Scientific Transport Plan

The traffic police are mapping out the movement of each and every guest, including athletes and their kin, delegates, officials and media from the time they arrive at the Delhi airport till their departure. Movement of people has been planned to the minutest detail including maps on routes taken with exact timings of movement and modes of commute. Officials say the plans have been drafted for all stadiums, training venues, Games village, airport and even hotels. Everything will be rehearsed once the construction of the venues is complete.

Dedicated Games Lanes

While the Games are on, no road will be completely blocked off for general traffic. The situation on Surajkund Road is an exception as the stretch is very narrow and there isn't scope for a Games lane and a normal traffic lane. In October, on about 220 km of roads which will be used by those headed for different events, one lane of road space will be reserved exclusively for Games traffic. But officials said the curbs will be enforced only at the time when some movement is planned on these routes. At all times, general traffic will be permitted.

Traffic-calming measures

From October 3 to 14, when the games are on, Delhi government is planning to shut schools and colleges and are also writing to corporate houses to allow flexible work timimgs for employees to contain vehicular congestion on the roads. Government offices will also reportedly be instructed to restrict work hours in accordance to the events in the city. The idea is to have less congestion on the roads, especially those around Games venues, during peak office hours.

Public transport

With more buses being acquired and the Delhi Metro network being expanded to thrice its present capacity in the next few months, the government and traffic police is going to promote use of public transport in a big way for the Games. Wherever possible, spectators to events will be given incentive to use Delhi Metro or buses. Park and ride facilities are being created around all venues to restrict movement of vehicles too close to the venues.

Strict enforcement of traffic rules

The traffic police are going to step up prosecution and enforce traffic rules stringently during the Commonwealth Games. There will be a zero tolerance for offences like unauthorized parking, red light jumping, Games lane and stop line violation. The entire force of the traffic police along with traffic patrol motorcycles and PCR vans will be deployed on arterial roads at all times to check violators.

Additional manpower & modernization

The traffic police strength is expected to touch an all-time high before the Commonwealth Games as a major share of the total recruits in Delhi Police is coming to the traffic wing. The staff has been recruited and presently undergoing training. In addition, devices like cameras to monitor traffic movement, more cranes and clamps, Variable Message Sign (VMS) boards, GPS etc are being acquired for more effective enforcement.

India on top with 19 medals at Commonwealth Shooting

Indian shooters continued their brilliant form in the Commonwealth Shooting Championships by sweeping three of the four gold medals on offer on the third day of the competition at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range here Sunday.

India's 2006 Commonwealth Games hero Samresh Jung teamed up with Zakir Khan to bag the gold in the men's 10m air pistol badge and pairs event. The Indian duo had a combined score of 1158 and both marksmen had identical scores of 579.

The silver went to the English pair of Michael Gault (571) and Nick Baxter (566), who aggregated 1137, while Australia's Christopher Roberts (568) and Alfio Casagrande (559) took the bronze medal with a total of 1127.

In the men's 25-metre rapid fire pistol badge and pairs, India made a clean sweep of all the medals with Vijay Kumar (588) bagging the gold while Gurpreet Singh (576) and Pemba Tamang (564) won the silver and bronze medals respectively.

The third gold of the day came from Meena Kumar (671.9) in the women's 50m rifle 3-position event while the silver went to Lajja Gauswami (670.7). England's Sharon Lee (666.8) had to remain content with the bronze medal.

Indians Mohammed Ashab and Vikram Bhatnagar bagged the silver and bronze in the men's double trap while the gold went to Englishman Steven Scott.

India now stand atop the medals table with nine golds, six silvers and four bronze medals. England are second with eight medals (2 golds, 3 silvers and 3 bronzes) followed by Scotland at third position with one gold medal.

Threat is real, safety not guaranteed, players told

ON THE day the Australian men's hockey team flew out for India, Australia's sizeable contingent of Indian Premier League cricketers were left to contemplate the toughest decision of their careers after a report warned that their safety at next month's cricket tournament could not be guaranteed.

The highly anticipated report, by security consultant Reg Dickason and commissioned by the Australian, English and South African players' unions, landed yesterday in the inbox of Australian Cricketers Association chief executive Paul Marsh.

It is understood it warns that the threats made last week by al-Qaeda militant Ilyas Kashmiri against the IPL, as well as the hockey World Cup and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, are credible and that cricketers' safety cannot be assured.

The recommendations by Dickason are expected to form the basis of the players' union advice to Australia's players and coaching and support staff involved in the IPL, which begins on March 12, as the competition is not under Cricket Australia jurisdiction.

But Marsh was last night unable to say whether the union would advise players to withdraw from the Twenty20 tournament. ''We're not in a position to talk about it right now,'' Marsh said. ''I've just received it and I'm working my way through it.''

Dickason, who was due to fly with the England team from the United Arab Emirates to Bangladesh yesterday after being hired to oversee security for that tour, was unavailable for comment.

His report, which could prompt a mass withdrawal of players this week from the IPL, arrived as the Australian men's hockey team boarded a plane in Perth yesterday bound for Delhi.

It came only a day after it was revealed that security plans for the Commonwealth Games in October had been stolen.

Tennis Australia had commissioned two security firms to assess the risk of its players competing in the tie in Chennai and cited the stolen plans as justification for its decision to forfeit a Davis Cup tie with India in May last year.

The Tennis Australia report, drawing on information from ''other security organisations with strong ties to the Chennai region'', does not specify who stole the Commonwealth Games blueprints but a source said: ''It forced the organisers to rejig the whole security plans for the Games.''

Hockey Australia yesterday gave the green light to the Kookaburras' participation in the World Cup, which starts next Sunday, after receiving advice from sources including the Australian High Commission and the Foreign Affairs department, that the al-Qaeda threat on the 10-nation tournament was not credible and that security arrangements were sufficient.

Security service company ATMAAC International, which will accompany the Kookaburras for the two-week competition, also said it would be safe for the team to travel.

Delhi police say a security force of 17,000 will oversee the event, as well as 1000 paramilitary personnel and 200 commandos positioned on rooftops of buildings.

''The information from all sources is consistent,'' said Hockey Australia yesterday. ''The advice states that there is a strong commitment and tangible evidence of the authorities' ability to implement robust security measures to ensure our team's safety at all times.

''All threats have been assessed and there are no known credible World Cup threats at this time.''

While the Hockey World Cup is poised to go ahead without a withdrawal, the IPL could be stripped of many of its players if they heed the recommendations in Dickason's report.

Tim May, the head of world cricketers' union FICA, forecast IPL withdrawals even before the Dickason report went to union chiefs.

Haryana upgrading infrastructure for CWG

The Haryana Government will provide as many as 6644 additional rooms during the forthcoming Commonwealth Games-2010. Besides this, the infrastructure of Haryana Tourism complexes are also being upgraded to meet the requirement of the Commonwealth Games.

Giving this information here todat, Tourism Minister O P Jain said that a number of steps had been taken by the Tourism Department to provide all basic facilities to the players and visitors during the ensuing Commonwealth Games.

The Minister said for the first time, the Tourism Minister has the best Tourism Minister Award by Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA). He further said that innovations introduced by Haryana Tourism had also been recognised by travel and trade.

Jain said recently award for best State for Conservation and Preservation of Heritage had also been given to Haryana by 5th Hospitality India and Explore the World Annual International Awards-2009. He said that Haryana Tourism had also introduced on-line room booking system at the important tourist complexes of Haryana Tourism.

The Tourism Minister said Red Bishop, Panchkula tourist complex was also being expanded and two acres of land had already been allocated for this purpose for setting up of a new convention centre and a sum of Rs 5.73 crore had been sanctioned for this purpose.

Jain said the Haryana Tourism had also taken a number of other steps to promote tourism in the State which included conservation of old motel and Rani Mahal at Yadavindra Gardens, Pinjore, construction of food court and parking at Pinjore and maintainence of musical fountain at Tilyar lake, Rohtak and restoration of Bhima Devi Temple Museum at Pinjore.

1,000 solar rickshaws to ferry Commonwealth Games athletes

At least 1,000 solar rickshaws will be deployed to ferry over 7,000 athletes and their delegates during the Commonwealth Games later this year.

A joint project between Delhi government and the central government-run Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), these zero carbon vehicles will help players commute inside the Games villages and reach sporting venues from Metro stations.

Its a unique initiative, where both innovation and concern for environment will be on display, Rajesh Kumar, a senior scientist at CSIR, told IANS.

We hope the initiative will be a huge hit among athletes from across the globe. The fleet of 1,000 solar rickshaws will reduce the carbon foot print and provide hassle free travel to our guest sportsmen, said Kumar, who has been coordinating with the city government.

These rickshaws are the greenest transport vehicles and help the cause of Green Games as promised by the Delhi government. These are optimally designed, pedal operated, motor assisted green pedicabs which draw their power from overhead solar panels.

Over 7,000 players and delegates from over 70 countries will reach Delhi to be a part of the Commonwealth Games Oct 3-14 in the national capital.

These vehicles were developed by CSIR's Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute based in Durgapur.

Kumar said he and his team are working hard to popularise the vehicle and set to hold a rally in its favour. We are going to hold a rally of at least 50 solar rickshaws in Delhi to create awareness among people about the vehicle that reduces human drudgery and improves environment.

Commonwealth Games: Special buses, Metro station-stadium shuttle service for spectators

A special DTC bus fleet, shuttle services from Metro stations to stadia and free travel in public transport for those carrying tickets are some aspects of a spectator transport plan formulated by the organisers of the Commonwealth Games to be held here in October.

The Games Organising Committee along with the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has chalked out the plan to take care of transport requirements of the "ticketed spectators".

Some of the proposed measures include introduction of a special fleet of buses, providing a regular shuttle service to and from the various Metro stations across Delhi and Games venues, free passes for Games volunteers and workforce on duty, sources in the Organising Committee said.

"There are also plans to integrate the Delhi Metro and DTC services so that all spectators can commute conveniently between different locations in and around Delhi. The ticketed spectators will be entitled for free public transport in DTC buses and Delhi Metro, valid for the day of the competition," a source said.

The Commonwealth Games, to be held between October 3-14 in the national capital this year, is expected to draw around 100,000 foreign tourists to the city.

If the large number of Indian tourists and residents of Delhi and National Capital Region is also taken into account, the spectator count per day per event is expected to be in thousands per venue.

To ferry spectators to and from different Games' venues, DTC will be providing a special bus fleet consisting of more than 600 CNG-fuelled buses.

The OC and DTC have also identified various stops from where the buses will pick and drop passengers, the sources said, adding, the entire Delhi has been divided into five zones for the purpose --'East', 'West and South West', 'North', 'South and South East' and 'West and North West'.

The zones will have 'Hub Points' like Anand Vihar ISBT, Dhaula Kuan or RK Puram, ISBT (Kashmere Gate), Nehru Place Terminal and Shivaji Stadium which will serve as various 'Focal Points'.

The DTC Focal Point Bus Service would also be integrated with Delhi Metro wherein the buses would transport passengers up to Metro stations for venues that have Metro connectivity.

"This is expected to result in on-road traffic reduction with the Metro ferrying about 2000 commuters per trip as compared to a bus that would have a far lesser capacity, a source said. The frequency of shuttle services is currently being planned," the source said.

The requirement for the workforce, including volunteers, is being worked out on the basis of their deployment at various venues on shifts. The public transport is also accordingly proposed to be scheduled to suit the requirement.

Kiwis told not to rely on Indian govt's security assurances

New Zealand has been instructed not to rely on Indian government's assurances of a foolproof security cover during the Commonwealth Games in October this year and have been encouraged to take independent advice.

New Zealand Cricket Players' Association chief Heath Mills said nobody with a stake in the Games should be relied upon to give unbiased information. The suggestion comes after a the Pune blasts which has left 14 people dead and the target of the attack appeared to be foreigners.

India has already launched an urgent review of security for sports events, including this week's hockey World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL) that begins from March 12. ''It's massively important to seek independent advice on issues of security. I can't emphasise that point enough,'' Mills said.

''Any analysis or supposed guarantees you get from the organisers of any event is clearly going to be conflicted. ''They are entirely motivated to make sure the event goes ahead for political reasons as well as having a commercial interest in it. ''When it comes to our Black Caps going overseas, we feel it's vitally important to have independent people who can go in there and review the security management plans that event organisers put in place,'' Mills told 'The Sunday News'. However, New Zealand Olympic Committee president Mike Stanley last night said he was confident his organisation would get ''the best information available'' from both the New Zealand Government and Commonwealth Games Federation. ''The Commonwealth Games Federation has its own international security consultants who assess the Indian event organisers' arrangements and advise them on things,'' Stanley said.

''We get information from both the CGF and the government and have a high degree of confidence we are going to get good information.'' But Mills said talking to the New Zealand government and CGF would not be enough for him. ''You get as much information out of the various government agencies that you can. ''They have good people involved but in our experience they will only provide information as opposed to advising you what to do. ''At the end of the day, they are not responsible for the athletes and nor should they be. The duty of care lies with the national sports body,'' Mills added.

Park-and-ride facility at Safdarjung Airport for Commonwealth Games

Keeping the Commonwealth Games in mind, the NDMC is setting up a park-and-ride facility at the Safdarjung Airport in the national capital, which will have space for 3000 cars and 600 buses.

The parking lot will be a key aspect in the transport plan of athletes and visitors during the mega sports event as it will be directly connected to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main venue of the Games.

"The holding area at the Safdarjung airport is being created for parking of vehicles destined for the Nehru Stadium during the Games," an NDMC official said.

The parking area will be spread over 1.65 lakh square metres and will accommodate 3000 cars, 600 buses and a few hundred two-wheelers. The project will involve an estimated expenditure of Rs50 crore, he said.

The proposal was also mentioned by NDMC chairman Parimal Rai while unveiling the civic body's 2010-11 budget last week. He had said an amount of Rs31.25 crore has been approved by the Delhi government for civil works for the project.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is in touch with the Delhi government to obtain administrative approval for remaining parts of the project.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is also constructing a parking facility for 800 vehicles near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium by covering two streams in the area -- Sunehri Nallah and Kushak Nallah.

Delhi Govt seeks Rs 2k cr in Union Budget

The Delhi Government has sought Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre in the Union Budget to meet its revenue shortfall over Commonwealth Games projects.

"We have sought over Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre in the Union budget as special assistance to meet the growing expenses on account of the Games," finance minister A K Walia said.


"Delhi government has written to the Union finance ministry requesting it to help tide over the situation," Walia said.

The minister also forecast a financial shortfall in the next fiscal.

He said the government had small savings of Rs 11,000 crore which helped it to a great extent in meeting the increasing expenses on Games-related projects.

Commonwealth Games: CISF to beef up Metro security

The security of Delhi Metro will be bolstered by deployment of 1,500 additional CISF personnel and special units of Quick Reaction Teams before the Commonwealth Games.

Metro and CISF authorities have undertaken a security audit of the commuter service in view of increasing load of passengers and inclusion of new stations.

Delhi Metro is expanding operations and passenger load has gone up hugely. An additional strength of almost 1,500 CISF personnel will be required to secure the Metro services after a security audit was carried out. Therefore, a proposal has been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs in this regard, the sources said.

The additional strength, which the sources said will be sanctioned soon by the government, will add to the existing 3,470 CISF security personnel at the Delhi Metro.

The Delhi Metro presently has 83 stations and has moved to Noida in Uttar Pradesh and will start operations to Gurgaon soon.

Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) of trained commandos armed with sophisticated weapons will also be deployed for Metro security in view of the mega sporting event scheduled here in October, they said.

Sources said these jawans will be in addition to the para-military force personnel who are already on job of providing security to all the stations.