Transfers in DDA may affect Commonwealth Games work

Months before the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) was to complete the two Commonwealth Games complexes — Siri Fort and Yamuna Sports Complex — the land agency has transferred key officials of the project. Interestingly, it has also extended the internal deadline that had been set for completion, from March 31 to May 31 now.

While top DDA officials claimed the move was administrative, sources in the agency said the transfers couldn’t have come at a worse time. ‘‘The projects are at a critical state, and any new official who takes charge will need some time to understand the issues,’’ said a senior official. It’s especially critical for the Siri Fort Sports Complex, which will be hosting the Asia Badminton Championship in April. Sources said while the FOP (field of play) and playing courts have been completed at the squash and badminton stadium, a large part of the work still remains to be completed. This was supposed to have been finished by this month-end.

Sources said the reason why the officials were removed at both complexes was delay in work — a fact that is apparent from the extended deadline. However, officials working on the project maintain the current delay is a result of initial lack of initiative by top DDA brass in the early days of preparation. Said an official, ‘‘We had been given only 18 months for actual execution of the project, the schedule of which has been maintained throughout. The maximum delay had taken place during the planning phase.’’ It’s an accusation that DDA’s top brass refused to comment on when contacted. Site officials, meanwhile, claimed they were being held responsible for what the senior officials have effected.

Interestingly, the DDA V-C conducts a weekly monitoring of both Commonwealth Games projects while senior officials apparently keep a close daily watch.

Caught between the politics of the DDA administration are the sports complexes, which will now take longer to be completed. Earlier in March, DDA had inaugurated the archery stadium at the Yamuna Sports Complex, despite the fact that it is yet to be finished. Neither is the table-tennis stadium at the same venue nor the training courts are ready yet. It’s the same story at the Siri Fort Complex, where a large part of the work at the squash and badminton stadium is yet to be completed. The training areas are also still in the process of completion, while the swimming complex, which is the training venue for the Games, is not even 50% complete. The badminton test event, meanwhile, will be starting from April 12 at Siri Fort while the squash event has been postponed, said sources.

Kalmadi invites Delhi to take active part in CWG

Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman, Suresh Kalmadi has laid importance on hospitality during the Commonwealth Games as the the international sports event is a massive opportunity for India.

Speaking at a CII conference on 'Commonwealth Games – the Excitement and Opportunities', Kalmadi said that the whole city of Delhi should be get involved in the grand reception of the visitors during CWG.

India successfully holding the prestigious sports event will up the country's prospects of being considered as potential and competent host for Olympics.

During the first green Commonwealth Games, the country is also hoping to play host to and woo the heads of various enterprises, who will be looking at commercial and business opportunities.

Commonwealth Games is set to begin on Oct 3 and conclude on Oct 14.

In an encouraging development, Commonwealth Games Federation (CWF) chief Mike Fennell, who has been nothing but skeptical of India's capabilities to host the games, has also expressed confidence in the country's preparations.

Everything in Delhi CWG would be first class: Fennell

The pace of preparations for this year's Commonwealth Games had him worried till a few days ago but CGF chief Mike Fennell has had a change of heart now and says everything in the Delhi event would be "first class".

"India has spared no resources for the Games and everything will be first class," Fennell said at a reception organised by the Indian community in Montego Bay in honour of the Queens Baton Relay.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has been at loggerheads with the event's Organising Committee in India over the tardy pace of preparations and Fennell has been quite vocal about his displeasure in the past.

But the CGF chief said he is happy with the pace of work now and is looking forward to the October 3 to 14 event in the Indian capital.

"Things are in great shape. We had hoped all the venues would be ready ahead of time so we could test them, but they will be completed ahead of the start of the Games," he said.

The Commonwealth Games is the biggest multi-sport mega event to be organised in India since the 1982 Asian Games, incidentally also held in Delhi.

The build-up to the 12-day extravaganza has, however, been marred by construction delays and security concerns of the visiting athletes.

But Fennell said the Indian government was "taking every precaution, Games or no Games to ensure the safety of their citizens."

Games will make delhi a global player

As Delhi races to complete infrastructure projects ahead of the XIXth Commonwealth Games amid reports of escalating costs, many want to know whether such 'mega-events are jackpot or burden?' Are immediate gains such as sports facilities and a spanking new airport all that the Games mean for the city? Or will this Rs 10,000 crore bill lead to emergence of Delhi and India as a brand?

Questions like these and many more came up for discussion on the concluding day of 'Delhi 2010: The Games and the Commonwealth' summit, organised by The Times of India and the South Asia Research Foundation.

That legacy is a multi-faceted word was apparent at the discussion as panelists concurred that it extends way beyond mere infrastructure. Louise Martin, vice-chairperson of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, spoke about the legacy that Scotland was looking forward to gain from the 2014 Games.

"We would like the legacy not to be confined to physical infrastr ture." As a step in this directio community-based programme to search and identify new sporting talent and encourage the culture of sports have been designed. Added Martin, "We're planning to spend over 25 million Pounds on n only infrastructure but also c ing and community program Targetted medal success is a other facet."

It's not just a resurgent sporting culture that a city can expect from the Games. As Guru Malladi of Ernst & Young, another speaker, highlighted, a mega-event like the Commonwealth Games can be a fillip to development. "The legacy of the Asiad in 1982 was the colour TV and city infrastructure. So too, the legacy of Delhi Games 2010 is not just a better transport system and roads but also the emergence of the city on the world sports map," said Malladi. "It's how you leverage the event that matters - like Barcelona, which brought down its employment rate from a two-digit percentage to single digits," he added.

But is Delhi managing to make the leap from the drawing board to the world map? Not really, going by what some of the speakers at the summit had to say. Both Michael Linley of Brand Capital, Melbourne as well as Prof Hans

Westerbeek of Victoria University

About the global perception Delhi Games 2010. "While Melbourne may have had the advantages of being a city that's centred its economics on mega events, the fact is that Delhi still has some way to go. Locations as well as intangible legacies such as ecological impact - especially the carbon footprint of the Games - are factors that would determine if the Delhi Games have been successful," said Westerbeek.

So is Delhi ready for the Games? Martin certainly thinks so, adding, "There's been a huge difference between the status of preparation from October to now." And its legacy, according to Jean-Loop, professor from Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration, may well be the goodwill of those coming in from abroad as well as its own perception as a nation ready to host an international event.