Dixit clarifies her govt has no role in deciding the Games Menu

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Friday clarified that the state government has no role to play as far as deciding the menu or serving of beef during the Commonwealth Games is concerned.

Dikshit tabled in the assembly a signed clarification issued by state Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta which says that the issue of supplying beef is between the Organising Committee and the contractor who is selected for running the kitchen in the Games Village.

Dikshit also clarified that it is the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) which is supposed to give permission under the municipal laws.

"I had made it clear that Delhi government has nothing to do with it," Dikshit said.

Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led MCD warned of legal action against officials and hotels if beef was imported or served to foreign visitors during the Commonwealth Games.

"As per a resolution passed by the MCD house in January last year, foreign visitors during the Commonwealth Games should not be served cow meat. This is in tune with the Delhi government's Delhi Agricultural Animal Protection Act, 1994," Leader of the MCD house Subhash Arya had said.

Under the Delhi Agricultural Animal Protection Act, slaughtering cows and possession or import of beef is strictly prohibited.

Weight loser is a big, inspirational winner already

The Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi are 198 days away but it has already started sparking inspirational tales. The story of Geoff Huegill is one such. On Thursday, he qualified for Delhi 2010 when he won the men's 50m butterfly in 23.46 seconds at the Australian Swimming Championships in Sydney.

So what, you may ask.

Huegill won 50m butterfly gold in the same event in Manchester in 2002 but put on so much weight after retiring from the sport at the end of the Athens Olympics in 2004. In fact, he tipped the scales at 138kg. Now 31 years old, he waged public battle against weight, shed 45kg over the last year and a half and has celebrated an emotional comeback.

His time was just two-hundredths of a second slower than his old world record set in 2001. The 31-year-old rated the win was on par with competing at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. “It's been a dream come true,” Huegill told reporters after he beat his younger training partners to make a stunning return to Australia's Swim Team. “Without a doubt I reckon it's better than making my first ever team.

“To come back from the position I was in, it's something I definitely don't take for granted. It's been well and truly worth all the pain. The emotions I feel today are well and truly on par with the way I felt 10 years ago when I stood behind the blocks at the Sydney Olympics.

He rates himself at only 85-90 per cent fitness, and sent a clear warning to former South African world record holder Roland Schoeman about his intentions in Delhi. “I love racing Roland and he's definitely going to be the man to beat, so it's going to be good to see how he goes now without his supersuit,” he said.

“(A time of) 23.44 is a pretty good world standard time at the moment, so my sights will definitely be coming away with a medal if not gold. I'm happy to put that out there now,” Huegill said.

Delhi 2010 will be majestic canvas for sportspersons

A wonderful mixture of positive emotions – joy, pride and excitement laced with confidence – overwhelms me as we get closer to the start of the Commonwealth Games. As I write, there are 200 days to go for the grand opening and we have planned an event on Sunday afternoon to mark this milestone, with dozens of leading artists painting a 200-foot canvas.

I am sure the Games will offer a majestic canvas for sportsperons from 71 nations to express themselves. Besides, it will be an opportunity for India to become more conscious of Olympic sport and participate in a big way. My excitement stems from my belief that the Commonwealth Games will be a huge turning point in India’s sporting history.

And yes, there is the feeling of satisfaction that the Chefs de Mission Seminar for leaders of the contingents from all 71 nations was conducted successfully. It gave us a good chance to share with them our levels of preparations, our plans to make the stay of their athletes most comfortable and also understand their own expectations. The Chefs de Mission were completely satisfied with what they saw of the preparations for the Games, including a visit to the Maj. Dhyan Chand National Stadium for the FIH World Cup.

Talking of test events, we have already the Commonwealth Shooting Federation Championship, the FIH World Cup hockey, an invitational archery tournament and the Commonwealth Boxing Championship being completed successfully. I am sure that the comfort level of athletes around the Commonwealth will have gone up as the events were complete without security incident.

I am glad Commonwealth Games Federation President Mr. Fennell made it a point to speak about the robust security for the athletes and officials. He is convinced the Chefs de Mission would have no hesitation in telling their athletes that Delhi has made all the arrangements to ensure a safe and secure Games. At the same time, we are impressing upon the security personnel the need to follow sports protocol and that the fans must enjoy the Games.

It is heartening to read reports from Australia where Olympic and world pole vault champion Steve Hooker says he has no reasoned to be concerned about security and from England where Commonwealth Games England says it would send a larger contingent to Delhi 2010 than it did to Melbourne 2006

It is all coming together – and coming together well. I know we cannot afford any slip ups but, at the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi, we are working through the day and night to ensure that our plans are in place and we have the personnel to execute these plans so that the Games can become a memorable experience for one and all.

We have embraced a positive approach all along. That will remain an important part of our countenance as we are confident that we will produce the best Games ever. Indeed, Team India, including the Governments of India and Delhi, the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Indian Olympic Association and the Organising Committee, will make it a great Games.

CM tables Chief Secretary's clarification

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday tabled a signed clarification issued by Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta on the issue of serving beef during the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

The clarification by the Chief Secretary said: “The issue of supply of beef during the Commonwealth Games was raised by the Leader of the House in the MCD, Subhash Arya, that the MCD would not permit beef to be served in the Games Village. Some Press people had asked me about the views of the Delhi Government in this regard. I had very categorically told them that catering service contracts are being arranged by the Organising Committee in the Games Village and the issue is between the OC, the contractor selected for running the kitchen in the Games Village and the MCD which is supposed to give permission under the municipal laws. I had made it clear that the Delhi Government has nothing to do with it.''

Later, Ms. Dikshit reiterated that the Delhi Government had nothing to do with slaughter houses and issue of licences to shops as this comes under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. She said it was for the Organising Committee to decide the menu to be served during the Games.

Violation of labour laws at Games sites, Court told

A Delhi High Court-appointed four-member committee has said that construction workers at the Commonwealth Games sites here are not getting proper wages and working in unsafe and unhygienic conditions.

In a report submitted to the Court, the committee said though it was not confirmed whether all workers were getting minimum wages as the muster rolls were not verified, the system for payment of wages prevailing at the work sites were found to be prone to abuse.

The workers seemed unaware of the relevant law and rules which makes their plight more vulnerable, the report says.

In many cases workers were found not receiving overtime wages at all, and those who were paid were paid at the rate of ordinary wages for the day against the statutory provision of double the rate of ordinary wages, the report states.

In a large number of cases there was no weekly off for them and they were employed on daily wages and received payment for the days they actually worked.

The committee found that though basic safety gears were issued to workers at majority of the sites visited by it, the workers were generally found working without them. The wages, ranging from Rs.300 to Rs.800, of some of those workers who used the safety gears were deducted, the report says.

Accidents were reported at almost all the sites visited by the committee but they could not be verified. However, in most cases the accident report was not sent to the Commissioner of Workmen's Compensation.

Though safety officers were present at some of the sites, safety supervision was found to be rare and the workers were not imparted training.

Medical examination of workers at regular and prescribed intervals was usually not conducted. As for medical facilities, first aid centres at the work sites were few and all that was available was a first aid box, the report says.

As for accommodation, the workers were found to be living in deplorable unhygienic conditions and the number of toilets available was found to be far short of the requirement keeping in view the large number of workers.

The report also indicts the regulators concerned for their failure to ensure compliance of the labour laws and rules.

There appeared to be a distinct bias against employing women accompanying their husbands at the sites and providing suitable amenities for them. Only one crèche was found operational at the Games Village, the report states.

Members of the People's Union for Democratic Rights and other non-government organisations told the committee that they had sent reports of violation of the labour laws to the Central and the State Governments but no response or incomplete response was sent to them, the report states.

The Delhi High Court had appointed the committee on a public interest litigation by PUDR and others alleging exploitation of workers at the Commonwealth construction sites.

Our city, their city

Literally, Delhi doesn’t mean anything. And the same holds true for Zurich. We have the Yamuna flowing through — or rather clogging — the city, while Limmat charts its course through Zurich. But despite a few similarities between the two capital cities, there are things that make you feel “if only we had that”. Yet there are times when one misses saadi Dilli even amidst the spic and span atmosphere of the plush European city. Come Commonwealth Games and Delhi would look its best. Here’s what we can take from Zurich.

Thumbs down
Waterways: Yamuna is the worst example of how a natural lifeline should be treated. A den of illegal activities and chemical dumping, this river could have been the pride of the Capital. Well, people still take a dip in it.

Thumbs up
Waterways: The banks of Limmat are among the most popular strolling zones for the young and old. Spotting two lovers cosying up is a usual sight. Swans on the clean, calm water makes for a beautiful sight as it flows through the ‘old city’.

Thumbs up
Food: Well, if you truly want to savour Delhi, you should opt for the street food. From gobhi parantha in the wee hours at ITO to kakori kebabs in Nizamuddin, we love — and live in — the streets. Though plush restaurants serving global cuisine are found in bulk, the state bhawans impart Delhi its distinct food flavour.

Thumbs up
Food: No Swiss city comes cheap, and its Capital is no exception. But yes, one must admire the quality and quantity they adhere by and you just can go on hogging. Street food throws up limited options as the city’s freezing. But besides great restaurants, Hiltl, the only all-veggy restaurant, serves everything from dal makhni to shahi paneer. Treat for us Indians!

Thumbs up
Airport: With the recent makeover, the IGI airport has come of age. A separate smoking area, internet access, food court — it has that phoren feel to it now. The Metro connection is just the thing we need to up its status further as getting an autorickshaw there can be a pain.

Thumbs up
Airport: The Flugafen — ‘airport’ in German — is one of the best in Europe. Its lounge bar is the longest in Europe and the place throws loads of options
for travellers to shop and unwind over, thus making transits and delays hassle-free. It even has a prayer room!

Thumbs up
Monuments: You are driving on the flyover, through chic offices and malls... and suddenly you come across an old fort wall peeping through the trees — that’s Delhi for you.

Thumbs up
Monuments: Zurich is a beautiful blend of the old and the new. The old charm’s preserved even while plush streets and banks have come up. The churches take you back to the class 6 history lessons.

Thumbs down
Public life: Ours could be India’s best city, if only we love it. Littered roads, abuses filling the air, rash driving, uncivi-lised Metro commuters — and we have just six months before the world comes here.

Thumbs up
Public life: Clean roads, public transport running on time, phone booths — you love life here. Trams are the lifeline as cabs come expensive. If only there were a few public toilets!

Opposition can’t digest beef issue

The Opposition today threatened to disrupt the Commonwealth Games if the government allowed beef to be served during the 12-day sporting extravaganza.

Leader of the opposition in Delhi Assembly V.K. Malhotra said the country would protest if the state failed to uphold the ‘law of the land’.

Malhotra was referring to a news report quoting Delhi chief secretary saying that beef, if imported during the games, will only be for sportsmen and delegates.

Malhotra said the Delhi Assembly had enacted a law in 1994 prohibiting the import, export, packaging and serving of beef in Delhi.

The BJP MLAs demanded a statement from CM Sheila Dikshit that the law of the land will be upheld.

The BJP MLAs got angry and staged a walk out when Dikshit said the BJP members were “communal-minded” and trying to gain political mileage.

Clarifying Mehta’s statement, Dikshit later said that the catering service contracts were being arranged by the Organising Committee and the issue is between the OC, the kitchen contractor and the MCD, which can give permission under the municipal laws.

“The matter does not concern the Delhi government. It should be raised in MCD,” Dikshit said.”

Coming soon, Brand Delhi

Like “God’s Own Country” for Kerala, “Hindustan ka Dil” for Madhya Pradesh, and “Incredible India”, the National Capital, Delhi, will soon get its own unique brand to go with its tourism attractions.

The process to bring out “Brand Delhi” has started with a deadline to launch it well before the Commonwealth Games.

Indi-rock band Euphoria is composing Delhi’s theme song in English aimed at foreign tourists. There will also be a Sufi song to be sung either by Daler Mehendi or Kailash Kher aimed at the home crowd.

“We are deciding on a best-in-the-business advertising agency to work with us on this. It will be put to test during the Games and will also be a long-term campaign to highlight Delhi on India’s tourism map,” said Delhi Tourism Managing Director Rina Ray at the Delhi Tourism Conclave, which ended on Friday.

As part of the exercise to market Delhi as a fun and safe city, the government has decided to empower thousands of tourists during the Games with two useful tools—a call centre and a website.

The call centre, operating 24X7, will support a number of foreign languages and help tourists with anything and everything that they might need to know to make their Delhi experience better.

“The call centre can book a cab, connect you to hotels and restaurants and even lodge complaints on anything,” she said.

Apart from that, Delhi Tourism floated the tender to develop a website this week. The website will have links to all services tourists generally need—from airline tickets and hotels to massage treatment.

And all this will be compatible with mobile phones so that the site can be used on the go.

“These services will protect tourists from the various traps laid out by the city’s touts and conmen posing as helpful tourist agents,” Ray said. “Brand Delhi” is yet to come up with its logo or even a slogan, which, the Delhi Tourism hopes, will be ready with in a month.

Meanwhile, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) said today that the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the venue for the athletic events as also for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games will be ready by June after major renovations.

Rs687 cr boost for Commonwealth games Overlay

The Union Cabinet has approved the ministry of youth affairs and sports’s proposal for providing Rs687 crore for Overlay to the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. The proposal came in context of the government’s decision to assure that facilities are provided as per the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) recommendations and keeping in view the benchmarks set by 2006 Melbourne CWG and Beijing Olympics.

All temporary fittings, fixtures and equipment which are mandatory to make the training and competition venues ready come under Overlays. The installation of these equipment will make for excellence and capacity enhancement in all mega international and mega events.

About 8000 athletes across the world will take part in the Games which will be covered by 2000 media personnel from both electronic and print mediums.

The organising committee is developing 23 competition venues and 26 training venues for 17 disciplines. Many non-competitive venues have also been made including the Games village, the international broadcasting centre (IBC), main press centre (MPC), Games family hotel, etc.

BBC says Ashes, Commonwealth Games and Winter Olympics should be free-to-air

The Ashes, the Commonwealth Games and the Winter Olympics should be included in the list of events that must be shown on free-to-air television, according to a submission to the department for culture media and sport from the BBC.

An independent report into free-to-air listed events led by broadcaster David Davies was published in November. The BBC's submission is a response to the DCMS's consultation on Davies' proposals, which ends today (19 March).

The BBC agrees with the Davies report that the Ashes join the free-to-air list, citing evidence from 2009 which showed that more people watched the Ashes highlights on Five – 7.3 million – than watched the Sky coverage, (6.2 million).

The report recommended that only the summer Olympic Games remain on the free-to-air list. However, the BBC said the winter games should also remain free-to-air because it was a "pre-eminent international event and delivers a similar level of audience interest as the European Football Championship Finals Tournament".

The BBC also suggested the Commonwealth Games, which were not included in the report, should be added to the free-to-air list because it had a "particular resonance in the UK's nations and can deliver significant value to audiences as England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland compete as separate teams".

A spokesman from the DCMS confirmed it had received more than 100 submissions on the issue of free-to-air sporting events, 18 of which were from major organisations, and that ministers would decide the next step after examining all the evidence.

The BBC's recommendations are broadly in line with its initial submission on the issue of free to air sports events, which was submitted to the first consultation in July 2009.

The Davies report suggested the following events be protected for free to air coverage:

* The Summer Olympic Games (currently both summer and winter)
* FIFA World Cup Finals Tournament
* UEFA European Football Championship Finals Tournament
* The Grand National
* The FA Cup Final in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (previously across UK)
* The Scottish FA Cup (in Scotland only)
* Home and away qualification matches in the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Football Championships (listed in the Home Nation to which they relate)
* The entire All-England Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship (currently the finals)
* The Open Golf Championship (currently only secondary coverage)
* Cricket’s home Ashes Test matches (Cricket Test Matched in England currently receive secondary protection)
* The Rugby Union World Cup Tournament (previously the final)
* Wales matches in the Six Nations Rugby Championship in Wales (previously Six Nations Rugby Tournament matches Involving home countries had secondary protection)

The events to leave the free-to-air list were The Derby and the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final

'Let's make Delhi the Asian capital of sports'

Delhi should focus on being the Asian capital of sports and work towards bidding for the Olympic Games, V.K. Verma, director general of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, said Friday.

"The security has been unhitched until now and the infrastructure development has been going full swing, all in preparation for the Commonwealth Games. But we have to ensure that the same is being maintained even after the games so that we can hope to win the bid for the Olympic games after this," Verma said on the concluding day of the two-day Delhi Tourism conclave.

"A sports culture has to be inculcated here. The trigger has been the Commonwealth Games, but let's maintain it. Let's make Delhi the Asian capital for sports," he added.

Saying that the onus now lies on every Delhiite to get the "return on investment" that the Commonwealth Games have been, Verma said: "During the Beijing Olympics, the head of the tourism department said 'the world has given us 16 days, we will give them 5,000 years', meaning that the event would be so spectacular that it will be indelible from one's memory.

"We have got 12 days (Commonwealth Games are between Oct 3-14) and without sounding too boisterous, let's say that in the next 20 years we will be at the pinnacle of all other must-visit places in the world." he said.

450 officers will ensure Games are dope free

Around 1,500 samples from athletes will be randomly tested to make the 2010 Commonwealth Games dope free. On the job will be some 450 Indians who are being selected and trained as dope control officers (DCOs).

"We will test some 1,500 samples. For this, we are training 447 DCOs," Munish Chander, deputy director general (doping control) of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, told IANS.

"During major events like the Commonwealth Games, the athletes have to go through many rounds of selection trials and it is here that they take to prohibited performance-enhancing substances."

Chander said after stringent scrutiny, people from a science, MBBS or physical education background were being selected as DCOs and trained in England, Austria and Germany.

"It would be an asset for the country to have internationally qualified DCOs and international standards of testing," he said.

He said there was very little dope control awareness in India and fewer qualified sports medicine experts or dope control specialists.

"There are only around 50 professionally-trained DCOs who usually collect samples at sports events here, but the Commonwealth Games are too big an event."

Delhi has the advantage of having the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) approved National Dope Testing Laboratory (NTDL), which is one of 35 in the world and one of six in Asia.

The Games doping control procedures and the lab came in for praise from Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Mike Fennell during his visit to Delhi last week.

The lab at Lodhi Road's CGO complex in south Delhi will be fully operational during the Oct 3-14 Games. It has successfully conducted tests during the Commonwealth Shooting Championship, the Hockey World Cup and the Commonwealth Boxing Championship in the last one month to finetune the procedures.

P.S.M. Chandran, a sports medicine expert with the Sports Authority of India and president of the International Federation for Sports Medicine, said there is an acute shortage of manpower in sports medicine.

"Hopefully, this will be noted during the Games. The organisers should provide the best facilities to the home team as well to ensure better performance. The professionals inducted should preferably have experience in sports and should not be left in the hands raw government hospital doctors," Chandran told IANS.

"So far 250-odd people have been selected and trained. It is a three-phase training programme and the candidates must get through a written test in July. We are choosing those with a background of medicine or science. Then they will be certified for two years," said Chandran.

Sample collection stations will be set up at all major Games venues, including the Nehru Stadium and training venues.

The Games Village on the banks of the river Yamuna, which will accommodate 8,000 athletes and team officials, will also have pre-event sample collection stations.

Weight lifters, athletes, competitors in aquatic sports, wrestlers and boxers are usually on the radar of drug controllers looking out for the prohibited substances.

The Indian Wrestling Federation escaped a ban when several weightlifters tested positive last year. A fine of Rs.500,000 was slapped on it. The federation has previously been banned in 2004 and 2006 for drug abuse by its athletes.

Chander blames this on the ignorance of not only the athletes but also the training staff.

"It is sad that the 30-odd national sports federations don't have a system in place or DCOs to educate the athletes, who are largely from a rural background with little knowledge about the prohibited substances. Our sports federations really need to educate the athletes so that they don't suffer," he said.

Chander said his department planned to release a series of booklets in regional languages or at least in Hindi on the dangers of drug abuse.

Indian govt pours money for Commonwealth Games

The Indian government on Friday approved an additional 152 million dollars for this year’s Commonwealth Games in a desperate effort to ensure the venues are finished in time.

The organisers of the October 3-14 Games in New Delhi will get the money for temporary fittings, fixtures and equipment required to make the venues operationally ready, a government statement said.

“The installation of these high end items of overlays (temporary fittings, fixtures and equipment) will set high standards for technological excellence and capacity enhancement,” the statement added.

“The installation of overlays is scheduled to commence from June. The overlays will be removed from the venues immediately after the Games.”

The 12-day sporting extravaganza is already the most expensive Commonwealth Games in history with an infrastructure and organising budget of two billion dollars.

The previous edition in Melbourne, Australia in 2006 cost 1.1 billion dollars.

Preparations for the Games, the biggest multi-sport event to be staged in India since the Asian Games in 1982, have been dogged by slow progress in the construction of stadiums and other infrastructure.

Nervousness around the Games is growing as deadlines slip repeatedly, particularly for the main Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee swimming complex.

“The deadlines are being pushed further every time,” Mike Hooper, chief executive of the London-based Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which owns and controls the Games, told AFP recently.

“In October last year we were told most of the venues will be ready by December, except the Jawaharlal Nehru and swimming stadiums which they said would be ready by March. Now that deadline has shifted to June.

“We struggle to understand that. If the venue construction programme does not adhere to what are self-imposed deadlines now, it will impact adversely the operational obligations.”

Issue of serving beef during CWG rocks Delhi Assembly

The issue of serving beef during Commonwealth Games today rocked Delhi Assembly with BJP MLAs protesting Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's remark calling them "communal-minded" for raising the matter, forcing an adjournment.

The issue was raised during 'discussion under special mention' by Leader of Opposition V K Malhotra who said Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta had made a statement that beef will be imported during the event to serve atheletes and officials.

Malhotra said Delhi Assembly had passed a legislation in 1994 under which storage and sale of beef is prohibited in the national capital.

Demanding a statement from Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit that beef would not be served during the event, he said it was obligatory on part of the government to ensure that the law is not violated.

"The Chief Secretary has told media that beef would be imported for the event. So many global sporting events like World Cup Hockey, International Shooting championship and IPL matches are taking place in Delhi where sportspersons from across the world are participating. But nobody has demanded that beef should be served. The law must be implemented in toto," he said.

As Dikshit did not respond to the repeated requests by Opposition for a statement on the issue, the BJP MLAs started shouting slogans against the government.

"If beef is served, we will not allow the Games to take place. Lakhs of people will come to the streets protesting against such move," senior MLA Jagdish Mukhi said.

When the House met after the usual brief break, Dikshit made a statement in the House saying that Mehta only said that this is an issue between Organising Committee of the event, the caterers and the MCD.

"The Chief Secretary has only made it clear that Delhi government has nothing to do with it. The MCD is supposed to give permission to the caterer and the Organising Committee will select the caterer," she said.

Unhappy over Dikshit's statement, Malhotra said it was a "very serious" issue and asked how could the Chief Minister "shy away from enforcement of the legislation passed unanimously by the Assembly".

To this, Dikshit insisted that this is an issue between Games organisers, MCD and caterer. "We have nothing to do with it. You are trying to make political capital out of it. Why don't you go to MCD? You are raising it because you are communal minded," she said.

Angry over Dikshit's remarks, BJP MLAs were soon on their feet shouting slogans demanding withdrawal of comments and trooped into the well of the House. Some of the Congress MLAs tried to counter their BJP counterparts.

As pandemonium continued, Speaker Yoganand Shastri adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

Delhi's citizens told to brush up on etiquette

India has compiled a list of do's and don'ts for its citizens at this year's Commonwealth Games to help showcase New Delhi's charms.

"We want to tell them don't urinate in public, don't spit, keep your houses and shops clean, keep public transport safe and such things," Delhi tourism chief Rina Ray told the Hindustan Times on Friday.

"This will tell every Delhiite that instead of being on the sidelines as a spectator, he or she can contribute to a better games."

New Delhi is preparing to host more than 100,000 foreign visitors during the October 3-14 event and the Indian capital hopes to use to games to show itself off as a truly global city.

"We don't want to start (the campaign) too early lest it fizzles out," Ray said.

The tips on good manners will be spread to through billboards, pamphlets, websites and audiovisual means in the coming months, Hindustan Times reported.

"We want to change Delhi's public culture, their behavior toward each other and to guests...so that they are courteous," Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said at the Delhi Tourism Conclave on Thursday, the paper reported.

"We want tourists to go back with the impression that Delhi is a sophisticated city."

Leave a lasting impression on Commonwealth Games guests: Sheila Dikshit

As New Delhi gears to host the Commonwealth Games (CWG), Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has asked citizens to put their best foot forward and leave a lasting impression on the guests.Addressing a tourism conclave here on Thursday, Dikshit said: “I can see a lot mannerisms changing, but it is still not enough. We have to do something which are extremely basic, like keeping our city clean, keeping our city attractive enough, giving our citizens the culture of politeness, sharing, caring for each other so when the world goes back with an impression that they have been to a truly civilized city.”

Dikshit also appealed to the private sector to share responsibility with the government in this regard.

“When the private sector appeals to people and when the private sector becomes the partner in this change, an active partner in this change, I think the change will come much much faster,” she said.

According to the CWG website, the Commonwealth village is being created at a cost of 230.7 million dollars (including the residential zone) and is spread over an area of 63.5 hectares (158.4 acres).

The village is also equipped with training areas for athletics (400 m eight-lane synthetic track and separate area for Throwing Events), swimming (50×25m, kids and leisure pool), weightlifting, wrestling and a fitness centre.

The village has 14 blocks, 34 towers and 1,168 air-conditioned flats to comfortably accommodate 8,000 athletes and team officials.

There will be a number of apartments, ranging from two to five bedroom units, each with ensuite facilities. There will be only two occupants per room, which makes it the highest ratio of facilities provided for any Games, as per officials of Organising Committee of the CWG-2010.

Terror threat dries up sponsors for Oz Delhi Commonwealth Games contingent

Australia's Commonwealth Games Association is struggling to attract sponsorships needed to send a large, competitive team to Delhi Commonwealth Games because many regular sponsors have backed out of the event fearing terrorist attacks.

The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Australian Commonwealth Games Association chief Perry Crosswhite as saying that only 35 per cent of the 7 million dollars needed for the games have been secured from corporate backers.

With six months remaining until the Games to begin, team officials should already have raised double that amount.

But the fear of a terrorist attack, either in the lead-up to the Games or during the 11 days of it, has dogged preparations for the event, the paper says.

"I'm really disappointed at the level of support from corporate Australia," Crosswhite said.

"We've always had good support in the past but they have obviously been influenced by what they have heard or read and are worried the Games are not going to go ahead or that they will be a disaster. They will go ahead," he added.

Major backers from previous years who have not signed up for Delhi include Telstra, Commonwealth Bank and Holden.

If ACGA fails to raise sufficient funds, it will be forced to dip into its foundation - a future fund established to invest the profits from the 2006 Melbourne Games.