Commonwealth Games work leading to power cuts

Transco Shutting Lines To Facilitate Construction At Various CWG Sites

Power cuts have become a regular affair this summer.However,this time the situation is not just a result of overdrawing by neighbouring states.As part of the Games preparations,the capitals power transmission utility Delhi Transco has been shutting several important electricity lines for civic agencies to carry out work over the past two months.With this,even available power has not been able to reach several households in peak summer.

On Wednesday,too,south Delhi was hit by several outages.Vasant Kunj residents were for a second consecutive day without power for up to six hours. On Tuesday,we had no power for 10 hours.On Wednesday again power went off at noon and was restored only late in the evening, said Amit Aggarwal,a member of the RWA.These outages,say sources,were probably a result of Transcos shutdown of the Mehrauli-Bamnauli transmission line to erect a transmission tower near Rajokari flyover for better power supply to IGI Airport.This is not the first instance when Games-related work has led to closure of transmission lines this summer.

Earlier,the 220kV Maharani Bagh-Lodi Road line was first shut in February/March for about 10 days and again from April 9 to April 28.This shutdown was necessitated by ongoing work on Barapullah Nullah.In May,Transco shut the crucial 220kV Badarpur-Okhla line almost for the entire month,this time for DMRC.Transco said it had to increase the height of a tower near Sarita Vihar to allow the Metro a better passage.One more transmission line was shut by Transco near Rajghat power house for tower work this summer.

Moreover,transmission lines have also been hit by several technical snags.On Wednesday,power in south Delhi colonies was further affected when one of the Badarpur-Mehrauli lines tripped.The forest department was pruning some trees in the area and a few branches fell on the line.The line could be restored only by evening and south Delhi areas witnessed outages on a rotational basis,said discom sources.

Though power sector experts agree that shutdown of these lines was essential keeping in mind the Gamesrelated work in the city,they added that the timing of the shutdown could have been more consumer-friendly. Shutting critical lines in peak summers always leads to a disaster.These could have been shut earlier in the year when demand was not so high, said an expert.Delhi Transco,however,said that the transmission line was not shut on their account. The Maharani Bagh-Lodi Road line was closed for the PWD,Badarpur-Okhla line for Delhi Metro and Mehrauli-Bamnauli line for IGI Airport.We closed the transmission lines as per their request to facilitate ongoing work in the area.They needed it for development work, said a Transco spokesperson.

MoD can’t spare choppers, baton relay likely to be hit

In a snub for the Commonwealth Games Committee, the Defence Ministry has turned down a request for military helicopters to transport games officials to different states as part of the Queen’s Baton relay that will precede the games. While the games committee had wanted the Armed Forces to foot the bill for airlifting officials for the relay after the baton enters India in June, the Defence Ministry has made it clear that in view of operational requirements, it would not be feasible to spare military aircraft.

While commercial aircraft are likely to be hired to transport officials with the baton, the duration and scope of the relay could to be shortened, given the high costs involved in chartering aircraft. The decision was taken during a meeting of the committee of secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary last month.

The committee will now draw up a movement plan for the baton relay and the Defence Ministry will only step in if a “genuine problem arises in working out the movement plan in difficult areas”. In effect, this means that only limited flights on regular “courier routes” of the Air Force will be made available for the relay. Experts are surprised that the games committee did not sketch out an alternative plan from the beginning and assumed that defence aircraft would be made available for the relay.

Differences have also risen between the Games Committee and the Defence Ministry over the deployment of Armed Forces personnel for various tasks related to the Games, including the opening and closing ceremonies. As reported by this newspaper, the committee had projected a requirement of nearly 4,000 defence personnel to manage things from logistics and movement to the music bands and fly past at the opening and closing ceremonies.

The committee of secretaries has also lashed out at the Games Committee for specifying the number of officers required as well as their designations in their request for additional personnel to the Defence Ministry. The committee has now been directed to send in details of the tasks required to be performed so that the Defence Ministry can depute personnel accordingly. It may be recalled that an earlier proposal, detailing the ‘need’ for close to 300 officers, including 245 Lieutenant Colonels had not gone down well with the ministry.

However, with just five months to go for the Games, there is still no clarity on the exact number of personnel to be deployed for the games or the tasks to be assigned to them, leaving the Defence Ministry uncomfortable.

FORCE DEMAND
4,000
Number of defence personnel required by Games Committee

300
Officers required to manage many aspects of the mega event

245
Lt Colonels needed by panel, a request Army has frowned upon

CCTVs made mandatory in guest houses approved for Commonwealth Games

To ensure foolproof security during the Commonwealth Games, close circuit televisions (CCTVs) have been made mandatory in approved guest houses here, the government said today.

"Efforts have been made to address the security concerns in the guidelines for approval of guest houses. CCTVs have been made mandatory in approved guest houses," minister of state for Tourism Sultan Ahmed said in reply to a written question in Lok Sabha.

He said, under the guidelines, the requirement of guest houses is minimum six rooms and for "Bed & Breakfast Scheme" the minimum of one and maximum of six rooms.

The antecedents of the owners of the B&B establishments are also verified before granting approval, he said.

The ministry has also introduced guidelines for setting up tented accommodation, he said.

CGF praises OC, cites ''remarkable progress''

Praising the Organising Committee for the progress in the preparations for the Commonwealth Games (CWG), CGF Co-ordination Commission chairman Austin Sealy today expressed confidence that the capital will host a successful multi-sports event this October.

The Commonwealth Games Federation's (CGF) Coordination Commission has spent the past four days in the city, evaluating preparations for the Commonwealth Games that get underway in the Indian capital on October 3 - in just 151 days.

The Coordination Commission, which is on its final visit before the Games, received detailed presentations from the Organising Committee (OC) and its delivery partners.

It also received reports from the various venue construction agencies on the progress of competition venues, the athletes village, and other CWG infrastructure projects and undertook site visits to the main venues.

''It has been a fruitful visit. The progress since the last visit is remarkable,'' Sealy told reporters here.

''I congratulate the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for the progress they have achieved. ''I also thank the government of India for their support,'' he added.

The CGF Co-ordination Commission chairman however, cautioned that the OC still has a lot of work to do before the CWG gets rolling, specially since some of the Games venues are still to be completed.

''Kalmadi and his team still has to cover a lot of work.

''The rest of the venues must be completed in time for the remaining test events. Particularly the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and the swimming venue (Talkatora stadium),'' Sealy stated.

''But we are confident that all the work will be completed in time,' he added.

Expressing satisfaction with the security arrangements, he said,''The CGF Co-ordination Commission has been satisfied by the police and security. ''I would like to assure the participants and visitors that the security arrangements are top class and we have nothing to fear.'' Sealy was also happy with the level of interest shown by the sponsors in the CWG.

''I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of sponsorsorship that the Organising Committee has been able to attract. ''The amount of sponsorship is in fact, much larger than that of the previous Commonwealth Games in Melbourne

in 2006,'' he asserted.

Test event for CWG held in Chennai

Even as the CWG 2010 organizers are racing against time to meet deadlines to deliver all stadia for the Commonwealth Games in time, the test events for the Games, which were supposed to be the barometer for the preparedness of the marquee event, are leaving a lot to be desired.

The Siri Fort Complex, which hosted the Asian badminton championships last month, was to host for the Asian squash championhip scheduled from April 21-May 5, but the event was eventually held in Chennai as the Siri Fort complex was not ‘completely ready’. With the purpose lost, the Squash Racquets Federation of India is now planning to have a test event after the venue is ready in June.

"The calendar of the events is decided earlier, so the dates cannot be changed. The venue was not fully ready, so we decided to hold the event in Chennai. It will be ready by June. We may hold a test event after that," said Srivatsan Subramaniam, secretary general, Squash Racquets Federation of India (SRFI). National coach Cyrus Poncha revealed that the decision to shift the event to Chennai was taken sometime in January. "We were not sure about a few things. So we decided to change the venue in January. The stadium is virtually ready now. It will be complete very soon. We will definitely have something (test event) then," he said.

Meanwhile, top Indian players sounded unperturbed and are focused on doing well in the coming events.

"It doesn’t really matter where we play. We as professionals have to play at different places but I hope that it is finished on time," said Dipika Pallikal, ranked 38 in the world. India’s top-ranked squash player, Saurav Ghosal, who lost in the semifinals of the championships, sounded satisfied with his performance and hoped that a test event would happen before the CWG.

"I played really well except Monday. Though I am disappointed, I am not getting bogged down and am looking forward to playing better in the coming tournaments. I am not sure what these guys are working on but getting to play at the Siri Fort complex before the Games would certainly help," Ghosal said.

David, Iskander defend title

World No. 1 Nicol David of Malaysia retained her Asian Championship women’s title defeating Rebecca Chiu of Hong Kong 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 in 24 minutes.

Later, another Malaysian, Mohammad Azlan Iskander, also defended the men’s title after Amir Atlas Khan of Pakistan conceded the match in the third game due to a niggle in his right knee. Iskander was leading 11-8, 11-4, 3-0 when the match was called off.

Gill defends new regulations; says no affect on CWG

Sticking to his guns in the face of stringent criticism from various federation bosses, Sports minister MS Gill today asserted that the new regulations limiting the tenures of NSF and IOA officials will not affect the Commonwealth Games later this year. The minister said the new regulations will not have any immediate effect, but will come into operation when the National Sports
Federations (NSF) next hold their elections.

''We have made it clear that all office bearers (sports bodies) continue their work and as and when future elections come which are mainly in 2012, 2013 and 2014, these regulations will apply,'' Gill told reporters outside the Parliament. ''The IOC says 12 years for the president, age limit of 70 and we said we will go with that. So now 12 years. But if somebody wants 12 into 30 and plus 40 I have nothing to say. That's all we have done nothing more, nothing less,'' he added. Gill was unperturbed despite severe criticism of his move, including Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief Suresh Kalmadi stating that he has just restored the previous order issued by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974-75. ''Its a free country and I welcome comment.

''Let me explain what we have precisely done. In the time of Mrs Indira Gandhi, 1974-75 these regulations were issued by the Education Sports Ministry limiting terms among other things for better management and promotion of sports in India. That was the fundamental objective,'' Gill said. ''However, these had been set aside in a casual order in August 2002 by the then minister. We have restored the regulations of 74-75. I have made no new regulations of my own. ''We have studied IOC regulations and we say let's stick with what IOC has done so that we are in tune with them,'' he added.

Young Indian team aimed for Commonwealth, Asian Games

India dumped some of its most experienced players for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and assistant coach Harender Singh conceded that the Delhi Commonwealth Games and Guangzhou Asian Games were of higher priority for the team, which resulted in such drastic measures.

Drag-flickers Sandeep Singh and Diwakar Ram and goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza were axed from the 18-member Indian squad after their below-par performance in the World Cup earlier this year.

Veteran strikers Prabhjot Singh and Deepak Thakur were not even considered in the probables for the May 6-16 at Ipoh, Malaysia.

Defending Champions India arrived for the tournament with 10 players from their World Cup squad and Harender admitted that a title win here is not the top agenda for the team.

''We have a mix of youth and experience for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. We will try our best to win but the main thing is to gauge the players and see how they will fit into our structure for the coming big assignments,'' Harender said.

''We have a bigger pool of trainees and the idea in the initial stage is to allow more young players to join the team in friendly tournaments to gain experience. That is why we have fringe players and several newcomers in the squad for the tournament in Ipoh.'' he added.

Among the players who will make their debut in the tournament are Amit Prabhaker, Rupinder Pal Singh and Ravi Pal.

In Vikas Pillay, who has four Test matches under his belt, and Mandin Antil with seven caps from the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup last year, India has a relatively inexperienced side, which makes their title defence much more difficult.

Mid-fielder Prabodh Tirkey will make a return to the team along with goalkeeper Barat Chetri, who was last seen in action in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) in December. Dhananjay Mahadik, who has 31 caps and showed his mettle in the India's eighth-place finish at the World Cup, has been given another chance to prove himself. ''There are some very good teams in the fray and we are looking forward to playing in this tournament. ''It will be good tests for us. There is no pressure on the players to win the title. We want them to enjoy their outings in Ipoh,'' he said.

After the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, India will head to Hamburg for a four-nation tournament. There are several Test matches lined up for India against England and Spain before going to Australia in July.

India will play a friendly match today against the Malaysian juniors starting at the Azlan Shah Stadium.

India are four-time champions in this tournament having won the title in 1985, 1991, 1995 and 2009.

Asian junior tennis to be test event for CWG

The Asian junior championship, to be staged at the DLTA Complex here from May 24, is scheduled to be the test event for tennis for the Commonwealth Games.

Interestingly, the tournament will be preceded by two more international tennis events at the same venue, in the fortnight before the Asian junior championship.

The venue, with a refurbished centre court, and a brand new show court No.1, is expected to be complete with new synthetic courts by the end of this month.

The $15,000 ITF men's Futures tennis tournament to be held from May 10, will be the first tournament in the new complex, though it may not be termed the test event. That will be followed by the ITF junior Grade 'II' tournament the following week, starting on May 17. Thus, the venue will be full ready when the ‘test' event is played from May 24. — Special Correspondent

Kerala responds well to Commonwealth Games roadshow

The first in the series of nationwide Commonwealth Games road shows concluded here Monday.

Jiji Thomson, special director general, 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Delhi, said the response to the first road show has been excellent.

"It is the biggest sporting extravaganza for India and is being held nearly three decades after the Asian Games. It is important to sensitise the youth of the nation towards sports," said Thomson.

The road show was kicked off with a painting competition, which saw participation from children of various age group.

Paintings depicting Shera, the Games' mascot, sports and harmony were on display. State Sports Minister M. Vijayakumar also gave awards to children for their efforts.

Fire safety top priority during Games

Six hundred fire department personnel are to be deployed for the Delhi Commonwealth Games and a safety drill is being charted out for various agencies, says director of the Delhi Fire Service R.C. Sharma.

Sharma told IANS: "Special fire safety training will be provided to all the agencies involved in various activities of the Games." The mega sporting event will take place Oct 3-14.

The training will entail minute details of fire safety like people management through announcement systems in the event of a fire, training on the usage of fire exits and primary fire extinguishing.

In all, 600 fire department personnel would be deployed for the Games. They would be stationed at the venues with fire tenders. "A minimum of one fire tender would be stationed at every venue and two or three at bigger venues," said Sharma.

Regarding No Objection Certificates (NOC) to all Games venues, Sharma said: "When construction is over, we will check everything and only then give clearances to the buildings.

"We will also hold special fire safety drills with all agencies involved with the Games - the special training by the fire department would be part of it," said Sharma.

CM inaugurates fully dedicated power grid for CWG village

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today inaugurated a fully dedicated 66/11 KV CWG village Grid sub- station, an important structure for Commonwealth Games 2010.

The Rs 40 crore BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) sub-station will be catering to all the power needs of the CWG village complex being developed in the vicinity of the Akshardham Temple with its dual transformers to handle any eventuality and contingency.

According to the BYPL, it is the first 'green grid' in North India. ''The control room building was constructed by using fly-ash bricks. We have also developed a 14,000 litre water harvesting system with the help of TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute),'' a BYPL spokesperson said.

It will also boast of a green cover on 30 per cent of its land for which Ms Dikshit has encouraged children to plant trees.

On the occasions, Ms Dikshit congratulated the BSES for completing the project in a short span of 13 months and appreciated their efforts of working shoulder to shoulder with the government to meet the requirements.

''Not only the Games village, but the adjoining areas will also get the benefit of this Grid. It will draw power from Delhi as well as National Grid. There is no chance for failure as it operates on a dual system,'' Ms Dikshit said.

''It is green so it also goes with the spirit of the CWG,'' she added.

The grid will also cater to the needs of around two lakh people residing in the surrounding areas.

GFI promises Rs 10 lakhs to CWG'10 gold medallists

Gymnastics Federation of India today promised a cash award of Rs 10 lakhs for the gymnasts who will fetch gold medal in the Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi from October 3-14.

With this, the GFI award will match the amount presently being offered by Union Sports Ministry to the sportspersons excelling in various disciplines in the Commonwealth and the Asian Games.

GFI President Jaspal Singh Kandhari said here that the idea behind the move is to encourage and give incentives to all those deserving gymnasts who bring laurels to the country.

The gymnasts who bag silver and bronze medal in the Games will be awarded Rs 5 lakhs and Rs 3 lakhs respectively, he said.

Kandhari said the decision to give the award was taken in their Annual General Council Meeting held at Hyderabad recently. As many as 28 units are affiliated to the GFI.

In order to give exposure to the Commonwealth Games probables, the men and women artistic teams will take part in various international championships to be held in France and Russia in the coming two months.

These probables are now being trained at the coaching camp at Pune under the watchful eyes of a reputed foreign coaches, Kandhari said.

The mandatory test event of gymnastics before the Delhi Games will be held in July this year at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, venue of the gymnastic events of the CWG, he added.

India’s first eco-friendly Thyagaraj stadium inaugurated

India's first eco-friendly sports complex Thyagaraj stadium, which will be the venue for Netball competition of the upcoming Commonwealth Games here, was today inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Built over an area of 16,000 square metres, the Thyagaraj Stadium has been built with the latest green building technologies and eco-friendly material.

"This is our first green stadium and it is the only one which has been constructed right from the scratch with Commonwealth Games in mind. Other stadiums are just being upgraded," Dikshit said speaking on the occasion.

The stadium would soon be equipped with a gas panel for energy supply. Currently solar energy is being used for lighting purposes.

The stadium features effective water management systems such as rainwater harvesting and sewage treatment with two lakh litres a day capacity.

Sports Minister MS Gill, who was also present at the function said the stadium is set to become "pride of Delhi"

"There is no doubt that it is one of the finest multi-purpose stadium in the world".

"I have been to a lot of places like Sydney, Beijing and London and seen their infrastructure. I will say, our stadium is incomparable and it is not an exaggeration," he added.

"Even after the CWG is over, this stadium can be used to host badminton, Table Tennis, basketball tournaments. We have spent enough money and I am confident of hosting a world class Games this year," he said.

Dikshit also said the projects due for the Games would be completed on time.

"Let me assure all of you that all the projects would be completed on time. Let there be no doubt in anyone's mind. The Games would be successful".

The sports complex has a parking for 450 vehicles. The multi-purpose Air Conditioned Indoor stadium has a seating capacity of 5,823. The stadium has been built at a cost of Rs 297 crore.

The stadium would be handed over to the education department after the games are over, Dikshit said.

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.

Delhi Government slammed for taxing people in the name of Commonwealth Games

Two separate protests were staged in the national capital on Friday against the Delhi Government's decision to hike Value Added Taxes(VAT) for almost all commodities in the State budget proposals.

In one of the protests, members of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) took out a mock funeral procession of VAT and burned its effigy.


"When the budget proposal for the Commonwealth Games was passed, the budget was Rs 7,000 crores. About Rs. 10,000 crore has already been spent. Rs. 3,000 crore was given by the Union Government for the Games," said Praveen Khandelwal, CAIT General Secretary.

"The State Government in its budget said that they are hiking the process to meet the expenses for the Commonwealth Games. We want to ask that are the Commonwealth Games more important for Delhi or the life of a common man? The Games are for the entire country, so why should people of Delhi bear all the burden?" he added.

The traders have decided to shut shops on Saturday till 1p.m. as a mark of protest and pledged to intensify their protests if the government does not role back its taxes.

In another protest, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took out a signature campaign against the Delhi Government.

Senior BJP leaders Vijay Goel and V. K. Malhotra participated in the campaign programme that took signatures of the common man in a petition to be handed over to the president.

"Millions of rupees have been spent in the name of Commonwealth Games. They are hiking the prices of gas, diesel. They are demolishing already completed tracks and roads, changing the lectricity poles. About Rs. 200 crores are being spent for the opening and closing ceremonies. This team of Sheila Dixit, Suresh Kalmadi and the Union Government are extorting people in the name of Commonwealth Games," said Vijay Goel.

CWG expense pegged at Rs 10,000 cr

Laying to rest speculation that the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010 budget has overshot, CWG Director General V K Verma on Wednesday said that the entire estimated cost of the games was Rs 10,000-crore.

“The (speculated) CWG cost is a myth. The entire cost of the Games is Rs 10,000 crore, which is USD 2 billion as compared to the USD 28 billion spent by China during the (Beijing) Olympics,” Verma said addressing a gathering at the India International Sports Summit in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Out of the Rs 10,000-crore while Rs 2,000-crore will be spent on hospitality, the rest of the money would be spent on building infrastructure like flyovers and stadiums, which is there to last, he said.

Verma said that if India expects to host the Olympics in the near future, they should start laying the platform from now.

“The time has come to show the world that India is capable of hosting a mega event,” he said.

Verma, who is also the vice-president of World Badminton Federation, said that India got an opportunity to host the World Badminton Championship, following the popularity of the game in the country and the success the country achieved in the sport.

“According to a survey, India is the second largest badminton playing nation with 1.7-million players. India languished at the 27-28 position eight years ago but have now rose to seventh position,” he added.

‘WC was a good experience’Notwithstanding their dismal show at the World Cup, Indian hockey captain Rajpal Singh said it was a learning experience for his team. “We may have lost in the World cup, but the players after getting lot of experience from the tournament are now looking at the Asian games ahead,” Rajpal said.

“Our focus now is Asian games,” he said adding that the players are now looking at the CommonWealth Games as a preparatory tournament for the team.

Commonwealth Games 2010 expense is Rs 10,000 crore: Verma

Laying to rest speculation that the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010 budget has overshot, CWG Director General VK Verma on Wednesday said that the entire estimated cost of the games was Rs 10,000-crore.

"The (speculated) CWG cost is a myth. The entire cost of the Games is Rs 10,000 crore, which is $2 billion as compared to the $28 billion spent by China during the (Beijing) Olympics," Verma said addressing a gathering at the India International Sports Summit on Wednesday.

Out of the Rs 10,000-crore while Rs 2,000-crore will be spent on hospitality, the rest of the money would be spent on building infrastructure like flyovers and stadiums, which is there to last, he said.

Verma said that if India expects to host the Olympics in the near future, they should start laying the platform from now. "The time has come to show the world that India is capable of hosting a mega event," he said.

Verma, who is also the vice-president of World Badminton Federation, said that India got an opportunity to host the World Badminton Championship, following the popularity of the game in the country and the success the country achieved in the sport.

"According to a survey, India is the second largest badminton playing nation with 1.7-million players. India languished at the 27-28 position eight years ago but have now rose to seventh position," he added.

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.

Rising cost: Commonwealth Games to get Rs 700 crore more

After the budget for conducting Commonwealth Games was more than doubled from Rs 767 crore to Rs 1,670 crore just three months ago,the mega event is to receive another infusion of Rs 700 crore for "outlays" - an innocuous-sounding word essentially meaning furnishing.

Even as the Cabinet is set to consider the huge hike on Friday, the jump does not include expenses such as upgrade of sporting infrastructure, security, roads and bridges and various civil works aimed at beautifying the city. The total cost of the Games is estimated to be Rs 10,000 crore even though this does not include the bill for a part of airport modernisation and Games-related Metro projects.

With the Games, scheduled for October 3-14, nearing rapidly, the government has had to put up with a sharp escalation of costs in order to ensure the prestigious event is staged without a glitch. But even as it races to meet deadlines, the Rs 700-crore jump is hardly an insignificant increase given that it is related to "soft" infrastructure like facades, furniture and design elements.

The Suresh Kalmadi-led organising committee has been under fire for slipping on deadlines and officials monitoring the preparation for the Games have repeatedly expressed apprehension that the rush to ensure timely completion could see budgets going haywire. With national pride at stake, the government would have little option but to fork out more funds even as oversight suffered.

With the Commonwealth Games Federation also having warned that Delhi was slipping on deadlines, the PMO was forced to intervene and a team of officials headed by a CEO was put in place. With the CEO supposed to have executive powers, the preparations have been streamlined to some extent. But Kalmadi is still seen to be in the driver's seat and the man behind major decisions.

Some surprise has been expressed over plans to hire furniture from foreign suppliers which is to be shipped out after the Games are over. While the organising committee's offices have only recently become fully functional, the reason for not using local suppliers is being wondered at even if the OC wanted to spend on hire and not purchase.

Rs 5165cr: Original total cost of Games projected in 2006, including cost of civil and stadium infrastructure as well as training.

Rs 10,000cr: Total cost now estimated, which does not include projects like airport modernisation and Games-related Metro work.

Rs 2,050cr: Budget for Delhi govt's work alone, which includes a few stadia but is chiefly related to roads and bridges.

Rs 6,200cr: Estimated cost of renovating existing stadiums and constructing new ones as well as conducting Games.