Special clinics for Commonwealth Games: Sheila Dikshit

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Wednesday said 40 special health clinics will be set up across the capital during the Commonwealth Games.

Addressing a function on World Health Day, Dikshit said 500 government doctors and 200 para-medical staff are being given special training for the Commonwealth Games.

‘Delhi will provide world class health facility during the mega sporting event,’ she said.

A health walk was also organised on the occasion by the Art of Living Foundation and hundreds of people turned up at India Gate lawns to participate in it.

Northern Ireland delegation on reconnaissance trip to Delhi

A 10-member delegation of the Commonwealth Games Council for Northern Ireland, led by Chairman Mr. Robert McVeigh and Secretary-General Ms, Terry Crothers, is in the Capital on a two-day familiarisation visit in the run up to the Commonwealth Games, beginning here on 3 October.

Mr. McVeigh, who is a shooter himself and has been to Delhi a number of times, expressed confidence that the Games will be a big success. “I see the commitment from the Governments of India and Delhi and the Organising Committee for Delhi to produce infrastructure and a Games that will make the city a major player in the world of sport in the future,” he said.

The delegation, which arrived here on Tuesday, visited the Games Village, the headquarters of the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi and a number of Games venues. Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi Chairman Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, MP, and other members of the top management met the group.

The delegation includes coaches Maggie Squires (archery), 1990 Commonwealth Games discus throw silver medallist and Northern Ireland Athletics High Performance Manager Jackie McKernan, Stephen Friel (boxing), Tom Causer (badminton), three-time Commonwealth Games cyclist Cormac Macann (Cycling) and Nelson Lindsay (swimming).

On Thursday, the CGCNA delegation will have meetings with some Functional Areas of the Organising Committee 2010 Delhi.

Northern Ireland, which won two silver medals in the Commonwealth Games in 2006, is targeting a number of disciplines for medals. “We will have around 80 athletes in a team of 120 and will look to return better off than we did from Melbourne. And one the reasons is that the timing of the Games suits us, coming as it does towards the end of our summer,” McVeigh said.

Mr McVeigh said the visit of the Queen’s Baton was a memorable event for Northern Ireland. “We were able to take the Queen’s Baton 2010 Delhi to all areas of Northern Ireland. It came as a messenger of peace and it united the community. It was also an opportunity for us to promote sport at large and Commonwealth Games in particular,” he said.

Bell becomes fourth New Zealand swimmer to qualify for Delhi 2010

New Zealand’s teenaged Olympian backstroke ace Daniel Bell rang a warning to his rivals after qualifying for the Commonwealth Games at the New Zealand Swimming championships in Auckland on Wednesday.

According to reports in the New Zealand media, Bell qualified in the 200m backstroke by clocking a personal best time of 1:58.96 to go under the qualifying mark for the Games by half a second. It raised the number of Games qualifiers from New Zealand after two days of the championships to four.

Bell led from the start but was pushed all the way by former national record holder Gareth Kean, with the pair going through the midway mark in 57 seconds when Bell was 4/10ths of a second off Kurt Bassett's New Zealand record.

“I am really happy with that. The 200 is not my main race so to get a qualifying time in that relieves a lot of pressure for the 100. I am now looking forward and upwards,” Bell said. “I will go back and look at the splits but obviously it's the fastest time that I've done before and it's been two years since I have done this event seriously. I've only been training for this for five months so I am really pleased.

“It's a real confidence boost leading up to the Commonwealth Games. All of the top backstrokers in the world are now swimming the 200m. It helps with some back end endurance for the 100m. Hopefully now I can produce a top time in the 100m and give some of the top backstrokers in the world a bit of a fright.”

Emily Thomas and Glenn Snyders missed qualification by only fractions from the target times in the women’s 100m backstroke and men’s 200m breaststroke respectively. Thomas won the 100m backstroke in 1:01.51, one-fifth of a second off the qualifying time for Delhi. Snyders won the 200m breaststroke in 2:13.55sec, 13/100ths of a second off the qualifying mark.

Snyders looked set to better the qualifying standard at the 150m mark but faded a fraction coming home. “I was where I wanted to be but should have been able to bring it home. And I should have glided at the end instead of taking that extra stroke which cost me,” he said.

Capital Mascara : Has The City Lost Its Priorities In The Rush For Cosmetic Nirvana?

In typical realtor-speak, it's being advertised as "the finest address in the heart of Delhi", and the Commonwealth Games Village is, truly, the stuff of real estate fantasies. Walk through its well-secured gates, and find yourself amid swathes of green, dotted with a swimming pool, a health club, tennis courts and, of course, 34 towers containing 1,168 flats that reek of 5-star comfort. Their decor may be minimalist, but the tone is one of overwhelming opulence.

Built in partnership between the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and developers Emaar MGF, the Village will give 8,000 international Commonwealth athletes the chance of living India's gated community dream. But outside the gates, the voices of protest aren't dying down; indeed, the critics are multiplying in number. For them, this plush "village" is not a dream world but a nightmare; the controversy around it a mirror of the larger public debate around the CWG itself.

Environmentalists believe Delhi will live to regret constructing these massive buildings on the banks of the Yamuna. They predict that the village will hamper the flow of groundwater that replenishes the seasonal river, effectively choking it. Despite a July 2009 Supreme Court verdict authorising the construction of these apartments, critics remain unconvinced. "It is almost suicide, but we are going through with it," says architect, urban planner and conservation consultant A.G.K. Menon. Even a cabinet minister confessed to Outlook, off the record: "Nobody can explain the justification for building the CWG Village on the banks of the Yamuna. Nor can I understand the logic of having the games somewhere else, and the village across a river."

Environmental concerns apart, some critics are also saddened by the contrast between the Asian Games in 1982, for which architects were selected on the basis of democratic competitions, and the Commonwealth Games, where no time was wasted for democracy. Raj Rewal, who won the competition to design the Asian Games Village near Delhi's Siri Fort Complex, says, "Now you have a case of architecturally illiterate promoters bringing in professionals who are far from being the world's leading architects. India's younger group of brilliant planners and architects have lost out as a consequence."

Beware of dengue during Games

Medicos in the national Capital have expressed apprehensions that the Capital may experience a dengue pandemic during the Commonwealth Games. According to sources, in a recent review of the Commonwealth Games health plan, a panel of doctors has said that dengue might take the form of an epidemic during the Games.

Sources added that in the review meeting, doctors said that if necessary steps are not taken it will be very tough to control dengue during the event.

Owing to construction works going on in most of the areas of the national Capital, grounds have been excavated and water has accumulated in the construction pits.

“Doctors have said stagnant water at different construction sites would be an ideal place for the breeding of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito responsible for the spread of the disease. This would make the dengue menace assume epidemic proportions during the Games. October is the month that records the largest number of dengue cases,” added the source.

In the meeting, attended by top officials of the health department, doctors have also said that areas having stagnant water should be cleared as soon as possible as this might even lead to an outbreak of dengue earlier then anticipated.

Asked about the preparedness of the civic agency to tackle the menace of dengue, Municipal Health Officer NK Yadav said that the civic agency is all set to deal with any emergency. “We are ready for dengue this time. Around 3,500 trained people have been hired and teams have been formed. They will be on duty from the second week of April instead of June. We have made all necessary arrangements in advance,” said Yadav. He further said that 12 rapid response teams have been formed to deal with any adverse situation.

Yadav said doctors have been appointed keeping in view the threat of dengue. “We have appointed doctors and field officers. The field officers will have to inspect their respective areas on a daily basis and prepare reports,” Yadav said.

Yadav said it is a well known fact that dengue is at its peak during the month of October as the most number of cases are registered in this month. But there is nothing to fear as ‘we are all set to tackle the menace,’ he said. He also added that the civic agency will run a series of awareness programmes to create awareness among the general public on the matter. A total of around 1,150 cases were registered in the national Capital in 2009 and two deaths were reported due to the disease.

Edinburgh residents handed Delhi games chance

THREE lucky Edinburgh residents are set to win the chance of taking part in the closing ceremony of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The ceremony is being held on 14 October and a major part of the event will see Glasgow and Scotland make the first public statement to the Commonwealth, and the world, by presenting a hand-over ceremony.

This will set the scene for the four years leading up to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, and mark the start of an amazing journey for athletes, citizens and communities of Scotland and the Commonwealth towards the biggest sporting event Scotland has hosted.

Organisers are planning a dance routine with a cast of approximately 400 amateur volunteers from all across Scotland and from all walks of life.

Any local resident over 18 who is fit, enthusiastic and regularly makes a contribution to the community can apply to take part.

The panel will select six finalists to be interviewed and then select the three lucky residents who will travel to Delhi.

Applications can be downloaded at www.edinburgh.gov.uk and entries must be received by 12 April.

Burmester earns right to defend 200m butterfly gold at Delhi 2010

Commonwealth Games 2006 Melbourne gold medallist Moss Burmester (New Zealand) will be in Delhi to defend his 200m butterfly title, after going half a second under the qualifying time at the National Swimming Championship at the West Wave Aquatic Centre in Waitakere on Monday.

Burmester turned at the 100m in 55.60 and won in 1:57.43, half a second inside the qualifying mark, according to reports in New Zealand media. He was one of three to qualify on the opening night of the championship that is double up as Commonwealth Games trials, with qualifying times only able to be set in the finals.

The America-based Lauren Boyle has qualified for her second Commonwealth Games after winning the women's 200m freestyle while 20-year-old Natalie Wiegersma became the first Southland swimmer in 20 years to qualify when she broke her own New Zealand record in the 200m individual medley.

“There was a fair bit of pressure I guess and for me it was about getting the job done and getting that qualifying time,” Burmester told reporters. “I am still getting used to competing without the suit. My training times have been pretty similar but I am used to putting on the suit and stepping up probably mentally as much as physically. I am now getting used to racing without it.

“I dropped off a bit coming home. I took a breath about five metres out so I will get a bit of a bollocking from my coach about that. It's pleasing and a relief to get the qualifying time. There's a lot of hard work to go. I always want to go better than I have done before so I want to go to Delhi and defend the gold,” Burmester said.