For the historic ruins of Old City, Games to bring no lease of life

Commonwealth Games provided an excellent opportunity to refurbish the Old City, but MCD has admitted defeat

Eight years of planning, an estimated interim budget of Rs 12 crore and nil expenditure — the ambitious plan of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to restore the lost glory of the Old City has failed to make any headway yet.

While the state is rushing to spruce up most parts of the Capital in time for the Games, MCD officials admit that most of the Old Delhi redevelopment projects are at a “standstill”. Barring road upgrade and streetscaping at S P Mukherjee Marg, Subhash Marg and Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, not much will be done in the Old City before the Games.

The Corporation, claim MCD city zone officials, is being “realistic”. “Redeveloping the Old City is a huge task and we do not want to start anything we will not be able to finish in time,” said Krishan Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, city zone. This was echoed by Municipal Commissioner K S Mehra, who is also the chairperson of the MCD Heritage Society, formed for conserving Old Delhi. Once the Games are over, MCD will “rethink” the proposed projects.

For now, the shopkeepers at SP Mukherjee Marg and Azad Hind market near the Red Fort have been given a new design “based on the lines of Janpath market”. The MCD has asked them to align their shops in accordance with it but they will have to be bear the costs.

The Projects

The MCD has made countless proposals for the redevelopment of the Walled City. Some of the most ambitious are:

* Traffic decongestion plan: In 2004, then transport minister Harun Yusuf’s decongestion plan was to reduce traffic in the most congested areas by introducing the “park-and ride” concept. But the proposed parking lots at Parade Ground and near Ramlila Maidan are yet to take off. Last year, the MCD proposed widening and streetscaping for the stretch between Fatehpuri Masjid and Red Fort, where eco-friendly trams were to be introduced.

* Conservation of havelis: While the Masterplan 2021 has identified the area as a ‘conservation zone’, hardly any effort has been made till date. The MCD Heritage Society had picked 775 heritage havelis from the INTACH list. These were notified by the state this year. Currently though, most structures like the haveli of Zeenat Mahal in Lal Kuan and Khazanchi ki haveli near Dariba Kalan have been abandoned by their owners and have been encroached upon.

* Shifting out wholesale markets: A High Court order and the requirements of the Masterplan 2021 stressed on the need for this, but the civic agencies have taken little action. The Walled City houses some of Asia’s largest wholesale markets like the chemical market at Lal Kuan, steel and transport market at Hauz Kazi, foodgrain market at Naya Bazaar and a spice market at Tilak Bazar.

* Jama Masjid redevelopment: Proposed in 2004, the plan got the DUAC approval last year. The civic body’s Rs 1,200-crore plan aims to redevelop and beautify the area around the mosque. The Meena Bazar too is to be redeveloped with 650 air-conditioned shops. For now, only “the garden will be made green and new signage will be installed,” officials said.

What ails the Old City?

The problems, say MCD officials, are many — the two most important ones being the lack of funds and multiplicity of authorities. They also say they have come to realise that it was “wrong” on their part to “float ambitious projects without confirming funding.” Besides, with agencies like the Delhi Development Authority and the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation involved, there is often an overlap. Sources in the MCD further say as many as 90 project files on development are “untraceable”.

And while the Old City continues disintegrating beneath encroaching shanties, cobwebs of wires and piles of rubbish, residents can only hope for a “more sustainable” development project once the Games are over.

Projects that failed to take shape

* Removal of overhead cables, creation of underground service utility ducts

* Widening roads, developing pavements and sidewalks and removal of encroachment

* Information kiosks, public toilets, signages, parking, revitalisation of residential areas

* Restoration of Kashmere Gate

* Refurbishing of road between Delhi Gate and Daryaganj, heritage corridor from Coronation Park to Qutub Minar which was to include heritage sites like Khooni Darwaza and Delhi Gate.

CWG work snaps DU's web, phone lines

The construction work for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games is going on in full swing in Delhi University. But the colleges are not amused. Thanks to dug up roads in the North Campus, many colleges have been facing disruption in the internet, water and telephone services for a couple of months.

DU teachers and students claim the work has been paced up but there hasn’t been any coordination between different agencies involved in the work.

At Hindu College, there has been no access to the internet for the past one and a half months. Principal Vinay Kumar Srivastava said, ‘‘We have written to the university several times regarding the unavailability of the internet in the college. But there is a problem as some cables have been destroyed in the digging happening right across the college.’’ He added, ‘‘We have recently acquired cordless modems. So we are depending on them as of now. We expect the internet may be restored within a week.’’

The construction work has affected life at Ramjas College too. Besides disruption in internet and phone lines, the staff quarters didn’t have any water supply recently. Rajendra Prasad, principal, Ramjas College, said, ‘‘The internet and phone lines have been affected badly in the last two months. In fact, a few days ago, the water supply lines of our staff quarters was cut due to the digging.’’ He added, ‘‘We had to get our own labour and get the lines repaired. None of the agencies working on construction fix it.’’

Prasad said though students are now taking their exams, disrupted internet services was still a problem for carrying out day-to-day work. The roads have been dug up on the sides all across the campus for streetscaping and widening of pavements. At some colleges like Ramjas, Daulat Ram, Shri Ram College of Commerce, the CWG work is going on even on the premises for preparing the training venue for Rugby.
Ira Pandit, who teaches in Daulat Ram College, also said some phone lines in her college and staff quarters remained dead recently. She said, ‘‘Some phones in our college and residence became dead twice. Even the water supply was affected. There have been minor problems on and off.’’

According to a teacher on the campus, the phone lines go dead for a few minutes several times during the day. ‘‘The problem is perhaps that the authorities are hastening work now. It seems there is no time to coordinate. So they dig up anywhere without checking if there are any wires underneath,’’ the teacher said. ‘‘However, it’s the part and parcel of all the developmental work going on here. We will have to be a little patient,’’ he added.

DTH players gear up to join high-definition bandwagon

With the government promising to telecast the Commonwealth Games in high-definition (HD) format, Direct-to-Home (DTH) service providers like Dish TV, Reliance BIG and Airtel Digital are now gearing up to join the bandwagon over the next couple of months.

High-definition television (HDTV) refers to videos with higher resolution than traditional TV, resulting in sharper pictures and richer colours. Though the market for HD services is restricted to niche segments at present (with Sun Direct being the only operator in the sector), industry experts are seeing increasing potential for such services in the coming year.

Dish TV plans to introduce HD services in June this year, while Reliance is evaluating market conditions to launch the service in a couple of weeks. Bharti Airtel executives inform work has reached an advanced stage in upgrading the infrastructure for HD services.
An Airtel spokesperson said: “We initially launched our service in standard definition but we will soon make our content available on the HD platform. We believe the Commonwealth Games will trigger the HD revolution in India, just as the Asian Games drove in the colour TV revolution in 1982. We expect HD technology to lead the DTH industry growth story in the country.”

Salil Kapoor, chief operating officer, Dish TV, concurs: “HD services are particularly preferred for sports and movie content. With this year being choc-a-bloc with sporting events, such as the IPL, T20 World Cup, FIFA World Cup and CWG, we hope to see an increasing number of subscribers tuning into the HD segment.”

Reliance, for instance, expects 10-15 per cent of the 1.5 million subscribers it hopes to add this year in the HD segment. In order to hook consumers into the segment, Reliance is coming out with an in-built Digital Video Recorder (DVR) with its HD set-top boxes.

Umesh Rao, chief marketing officer, Reliance BIG TV, while declining to specify the pricing point for the product, said: “What is unique about our HD set-top box is that it will enable the subscriber to receive HD feed and record content from a single set-top box. The pricing will not be off the line with what other players are currently offering.”

Gill inaugurates wrestling stadium

The wrestling stadium at the Indira Gandhi Sports complex was inaugurated by Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports M.S. Gill here Sunday.

The new stadium, the venue for the Commonwealth Games, has a capacity of 6,932 people and a built-up area of 22,350 square metre.

Gill called the venue one of the best for wrestling in the country.

“It is a world-class venue and one of the best wrestling centres in the country. Everyone has worked hard and ensured that the stadium has the best of modern facilities,” said Gill.

“With the other stadiums also nearing completion, we are confident of delivering the best games ever. Now it it is the turn of wrestlers to perform and win medals for the country.”

Gill said the sports ministry, along with Indian Olympics Association, will hold national-level school competitions regularly in these stadiums after the Games.

MCD signs MoU with NGO to clean Delhi before CWGs

In the view of upcoming Commonwealth Games, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi(MCD) has signed an MoU of cleanliness with an NGO on the assurance that it will maintain the tidiness in the Capital with only 10 per cent of the total workforce in the capital. The task has been given to ''Nyaya Bhoomi'', an NGO run by Col B B Sharan, who has signed the MoU with MCD Commissioner K S Mehra.

Talking to presspersons yesterday, he said, ''The NGO will, with the help of 600 government karamcharies, maintain the cleanliness of the city and soon make it the sparkling Capital at par with the other International cities.'' ''I asked Mr Mehra to give me only 10 per cent of the existing workforce, which is 600 out of existing six thousand safai karamcharies in the capital, on trial basis and I will ensure that each one works and keeps the city clean,'' he said.

''There are 272 wards in the capital and about six thousand workers are appointed to clean the roads but we hardly see any worker doing the job,'' Col Sharan said. ''We see filth lying all over the roads and drains are full of clogging water. All we want is volunteers from public to get the work done from these Karamcharies,'' he said. The resident welfare associations could come forward to take up the job. The public should come forward on its own to support the cause.

Our organisation is committed to get the work done from the babus who are getting salary from the public exchequer but are not delivering. He requested the public to come forward and support the movement.

Delhi Police finalises 'crises management plan' for CWG

The Delhi Police has made each major games venue the responsibility of a senior official to ensure quick response to any threat or contingency that may arise during the Commonwealth Games.

The officials have been empowered to take immediate action including force deployment and seeking support from other security agencies without going through normal bureaucratic channels.

This 'crisis management plan' has been finalised in consultation with paramilitary forces like the National Security Guard and the Central Reserve Police Force and local bodes like the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Fire Service.

"Each games venue will be supervised by a deputy commissioner of police, additional commissioner of police or joint commissioner of police. They will be responsible for guarding it and deploying resources in case of any contingency," a senior police official said.

"Each games venue will have sufficient number of police personnel, a bomb squad, fire tender, electronic surveillance and other security arrangements. Besides this, elaborative security measures have been planned for other places to be visited by athletes and spectators," he said.

The Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held in Delhi between October 3-14.

Delhi Police finalises 'crises management plan' for CWG

The Delhi Police has made each major games venue the responsibility of a senior official to ensure quick response to any threat or contingency that may arise during the Commonwealth Games.

The officials have been empowered to take immediate action including force deployment and seeking support from other security agencies without going through normal bureaucratic channels.

This 'crisis management plan' has been finalised in consultation with paramilitary forces like the National Security Guard and the Central Reserve Police Force and local bodes like the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Fire Service.

"Each games venue will be supervised by a deputy commissioner of police, additional commissioner of police or joint commissioner of police. They will be responsible for guarding it and deploying resources in case of any contingency," a senior police official said.

"Each games venue will have sufficient number of police personnel, a bomb squad, fire tender, electronic surveillance and other security arrangements. Besides this, elaborative security measures have been planned for other places to be visited by athletes and spectators," he said.

The Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held in Delhi between October 3-14.

No compensation yet for displaced Tamils

It's the poor in Delhi who are bearing the brunt of the Commonwealth Games' preparations.

At a time when chief minister Sheila Dikshit announced compensation for those affected by the development work, 368 families of Dalit Tamils are running from pillar to post seeking shelter.

Their slum cluster at Jangpura's Barapullah Nallah was bulldozed on April 15 as a parking lot had to be constructed for the Games. The Tamils had been living there for the past 35 years.

Last Sunday, Dikshit, at a function near the Azadpur flyover, had said: "People whose houses or shops were demolished to facilitate the Commonwealth Games project will be compensated soon. I have asked (Public Works Department minister Raj Kumar) Chauhan to direct the Delhi Development Authority to distribute the compensation amount within a week."

CM's announcement but no help or money has reached the Tamils.

They currently sleep under the open sky, with the women cradling wailing babies, trying to save them from the heat and the mosquitoes, while the men keep watch lest their belongings are stolen.

Murugan, a 27-year-old who cleans cars in the nearby posh Jangpura colony, said: "They (government officials) told us a high voltage electricity wire had to be laid. We were asked to move out of our homes." The displaced Tamils tried approaching Dikshit. But nothing was said to them about compensation.

"Her son, Sandeep, assured us that water and food would be supplied to us in the tents. He did not utter a word about compensation," Munny Amma, who works as a maid, said.

Instead, the Dalit Tamils were told that 36-of the total 368-displaced families would be relocated to the Savda Ghevra resettlement colony in north-west Delhi.

The heat has already started taking a toll on the homeless.

One person fainted on Tuesday and had to be admitted to an ICU. A 16-year-old, Shiv Shankar, was another victim.

"Shiv Shankar used to study in a government school. He was already in trauma because of personal problems. The final blow came when his house got razed and he became mentally ill. He has been taken to Chennai for treatment," his neighbour Rajamma said.

Lok Sabha MPs P. Lingam and Gurudas Das Gupta had reportedly visited the displaced and promised to alleviate their suffering. But nothing has been done yet.

Savitri Devi, 42, said the families' ration and voter ID cards had been taken away by the government officials.

"We are not able to purchase kerosene oil. Just look at the way they talk when they need votes. Now we are nothing for them," she said.

Ameque Jamei, leader of the All India Youth Federation which is spearheading the campaign for the homeless, said the city slums were a cause of embarrassment for the Delhi government.

" The government is ashamed of the slums. Therefore, it has displaced hundreds of people and not even given them an alternate place to live. The Dalit Tamils' slum cluster was visible from the flyover which will connect the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium to the Lodhi Road," he said.