Govt ready to borrow, buy, rent ambulances

With the Commonwealth Games deadline fast approaching and the partnership with Fortis Hospital failing, sourcing ambulances has become a major concern for the Health department.

In desperation, the state department has decided to buy, borrow and rent.

In a recent meeting with the heads of over 30 private hospitals in Delhi, Health minister Kiran Walia discussed the options, one of which is using the services pro-bono.

“The private hospitals have been considerate and have offered us help in every possible way,” Walia said. “Many of them are offering us brand new ambulances for use during the Games. There is no reason to worry as the ambulances will be arranged well within time.”

The Delhi government will soon place urgent short notice tenders to procure 31 ambulances — of which 21 will be Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances and 10 Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances.

“We will have ALS and one BLS ambulance in each of our hospitals. Besides, we will rent ambulances and ensure there is no shortage,” she added. The tender process is likely to be over within two months.

The state government had earlier partnered with the Fortis Group to roll out 150 fully equipped ambulances in time for the Games. The first batch was to be delivered in January. The PPP, however, fell apart after the Health minister inspected the fleet and found that they had failed to meet government specifications.

The Health department will soon be approaching an arbitrator for a closure on the PPP with Fortis.

Of the 150 ambulances, 141 will be for basic life support and nine advanced life support. Besides, there will be 20 ‘first-responder’ (two-wheeler) vehicles — the objective of which will be to reach the victim within 15-20 minutes of receiving the call for help.

Since 1991, pre-hospital medical emergency transportation and ambulance services have been provided through the Centralised Accident and Trauma Services (CATS). Currently, there are 35 CATS ambulances spread across 21 base stations in the city.

On an average, five to six of these remain off roads due to maintenance problems each month.

CWG village to get India's first green helipad

With Commonwealth Games just six months away, air traffic in the city is going for a face change with the construction of the country's first 'green helipad' at the Commonwealth Games village site in East Delhi.

The green helipad will be a non concrete structure and can be easily removed and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has sanctioned Rs.1.92 crore for the project at the Commonwealth Games village site. DDA has also allotted 10,000 square meters of land for the land. Delhi Police is also likely to hire helicopters from the Indian Air Force for surveillance purposes during the Games will have landing access to the helipad.

The government is also planning to come up with a helipad at the AIIMS and heliport in Rohini. For all these infrastructure the government is not only in talks with state-run helicopter firm Pawan Hans but is also looking for land from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to build 10-12 helipads.

Pawan Hans officials apparently visited the AIIMS Trauma Centre in South Delhi to check out whether there is ample room for a helipad and if the building can sustain the load of a helicopter. The officials were satisfied and asked the hospital authorities to make some minor constructional changes so that the helipad can be built in six month's time.

The heliport coming-up at Rohini will have helipads, parking bays and night landing facilities. Besides the basic services, it will also have a training academy.

New Delhi station to sport dazzling white look

Gearing up for the Commonwealth Games, the busy New Delhi Railway Station will sport a swanky new look, the work for which has already started.

The entire renovation work will be carried out as per a new design being finalised by the Railways Delhi Division to give an eye-catching look to the station.

"The facade of the station at Paharganj side will sport a complete new look. The colour of the 50-feet high building will be changed from existing light brown to pure white. Besides, the portico will have a new design," Ashwani Lohani, Divisional Railway Manager, Delhi Division, told PTI.

As per the blueprint, black granite will be laid upto ten feet from the ground while rest of the building will be fitted with white aluminium composite panels to give a "dazzling white look", he said.

Similarly, black granite will be used for the name plate in front of the station while the letters in it will be in stainless steel with adequate lighting system on top of the building, Lohani said.

Besides, the entire flooring will also be changed to match the facade.

"We are going for vacuum dewatered concrete flooring and the portico area will have bitumastic coloured pavers," the official said.

The New Delhi station, which receives about 700 trains a day, is currently undergoing renovation work as part of the beautification drive before the Commonwealth Games.

"The new look station will be ready much before the Games. In fact, we are trying to finish the work by June-July," the official said.

Besides the new look, steps are also being undertaken to improve the circulation area.

"The circulation area has been redesigned to ensure smooth movement of vehicles by creating more parking space," he said.

Waiting seats, water coolers and even dustbins will sport a new whitish look as per the new design. Authorities are also focusing on cleanliness at the station premises, Lohani said.

Only 2,224 new hotel rooms to be ready for Commonwealth Games in capital

Despite an all-out effort by the government to facilitate construction of adequate number of hotel rooms in the city for the Commonwealth games, only 2,224 rooms will be available for the event.

Only 13 hotels out of the 39 proposed ones in the city would be ready before the Games, according to the data prepared at the latest review meeting of room position by the tourism ministry.

Though many hotels are coming up in Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Noida, the capital city will have to content with just 2,224 rooms from the 13 new hotels before the sporting extravaganza.

There is a requirement of 30,000 rooms during the Games beginning October 3.

As per the review, construction of 3,169 rooms at about 20 sites in the capital is going on. But these hotels are unlikely to be completed before the event.

However, ruling out room shortage during the Games, a senior ministry official said, "There would be a total of 10,973 rooms ready in the capital and in the neighbouring areas before the Games.

"Besides, 2,709 DDA flats (5500 rooms) are also being readied at Vasant Vihar for the Games visitors. About 2,000 rooms under the Bed and Breakfast scheme and about 11,000 guest house rooms in the city would be made available."

To encourage construction of new hotels for the Games, government has extended the Five-Year Tax Holiday available to 2, 3 and 4-star category hotels and convention centers in National Capital Territory Region of Delhi and the districts of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad from March 31 to July 31 this year under Section 80-ID of Income Tax Act.

Union tourism minister Kumari Selja in a pre-budget exercise had requested the union finance minister for extension of time limit for the tax holiday to Games hotel projects in Delhi & NCR.

This incentive was earlier available from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2010.

"The incentive has been extended to encourage the completion of the Games hotel projects which had slowed down due to global economic recession," said the official.

Just 186 days are left for the Commonwealth games to begin.

Amitabh must be made CWG main brand ambassador: Vijay Kumar Malhotra

Indian Olympic Association senior vice-president Vijay Kumar Malhotra has suggested Amitabh Bachchan's name as the main brand ambassador for the Commonwealth Games to be held in the national capital later this year.

In a letter to IOA president and Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, Malhotra, who is also an Executive Board member of the CWG, said given his credentials and star status, the film icon is the best fit for the post.

"Commonwealth Games is going to be an important milestone in the history of contemporary India. It will not only showcase our sporting talent but also social and cultural heritage.

"In this regard the appointment of Brand Ambassador for Commonwealth Games 2010 is going to be very crucial becauee they will be looked upon as the best and brightest of the country. These Brand Ambassadors, as they will be representing the country, should be proud of being given the job and they should do it in the national interest and not for money," Malhotra wrote in his letter to Kalmadi.

"I suggest Shri Amitabh Bachchan should be appointed as the main Brand Ambassador of Commonwealth Games. Shri Bachchan represents best of India's mid-age generation and is an icon for the youngsters. He was the Brand Ambassador of 1982 Delhi Asiad and I strongly feel Shri Bachchan should be given this honour again," he said.

"The OC has already named some Brand Ambassadors and and some more are going to be appointed very soon. I suggest we should appoint only those cine stars, sportsperson and other celebrities who have clean record and are prepared to do this job without asking for any honourarium," he added.

Commonwealth Secretary General visits India

Secretary General of the 53-nation Commonwealth Kamalesh Sharma comes here Saturday night on a week-long visit that will focus on the ongoing preparations for the 2010 Games in the Indian capital Oct 3-14.

Sharma will Monday attend a seminar on the future of Commonwealth Games and participate in a Commonwealth Writers' Conference here.

He will call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and hold discussions with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.

Ahead of his visit, Sharma struck an upbeat note, saying the 2010 Games will be "a big success".

"I have confidence that the infrastructure will be ready in time and the Games will be a big success. It is for the Organising Committee to attend matters connected with the preparations of the Games," Sharma had said.

He will also take up Indian authorities allegations about 43 workers dying on sites being built for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

A five-member panel set up by Delhi High Court had made critical observations about workers' conditions at Games sites.