CWG project to be finished by next month: MCD

All Commonwealth Games-related projects, taken up by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), are likely to be completed by next month.

MCD Commissioner K S Mehra informed this to the councillors at a meeting here today. ''Work of parking facility undertaken by the civic body in the vicinity of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and at training venue at DPS R K Puram is likely to be completed by today,'' Mr Mehra said.

He also stated that street-scaping of roads, leading to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Thaygraj Stadium, R K Khanna Stadium, Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, Chattarsal Stadium and Rugby Stadium in Civil Line area will be finalised by the end of June. ''Construction of 26 waterless urinals, out of proposed 811 in different zones at a cost of Rs 35 crore have been completed while the work on 251 of them is in full swing,'' the Commissioner said. Upgrading of 222 roads and lanes out of 271 around hotels and guesthouses in Pahar Ganj, Karol Bagh and city zones is under progress while 29 of them are ready.

Security arrangements for Commonwealth Games reviewd: Chidambaram

Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram on Monday said security arrangements for the Commonwealth Games have been reviewed in consultation with Delhi police and other security forces.

“Security arrangements for the Commonwealth Games were reviewed in consultation with Delhi police and the CPMFs. Six companies of CPMF were deployed for the test events held between May 23-30, 2010,” said Chidambaram while presenting the month report card of the MHA for the month of May.

“On the request of the Government of West Bengal, 48 additional CPMF companies were deployed for the municipal elections on May 30, 2010,” he informed.

He also said: “The supply, installation, integration and commissioning of the C4i (Command, Control, Coordination and Communication Centre) project for the Delhi Police HQs was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 15.39 crore.”

“Under the MPF Scheme, Rs. 9.25 crore was sanctioned for the UTs,” Chidambaram said.

“On May 4, 2010, the Daman and Diu Marine Fishing (Amendment) Regulations were notified,” he further stated.

India fears Commonwealth Games venues will not be ready

Commonwealth Games-2010 host India appears to be in a potentially embarrassing situation, as construction delays have raised fears that the venues might not be ready on time.

India hopes the Games will showcase its rising economic power, as the country is expecting two million tourists in New Delhi, as well as about 10,000 athletes from 71 teams representing 54 Commonwealth member states for the Games beginning on October 3.However, with barely four months to go, the work at the main stadium is months overdue and the completion of the swimming pool and other venues has been delayed, highlighting the slow pace of infrastructure development.

Other games-related constructions such as roads, bridges, and hotels are also running behind schedule.

Even the roads leading to the Commonwealth Games village, where the athletes and officials will stay, are running behind schedule and the delays are causing anxiety among some of the locals.

Surender Sahni, a regular commuter on the road across the games village said he doubted if Delhi would be ready for its coming out party.

"The construction here is quite delayed, I don't think they will be able to finish it on time, and this is also causing inconvenience to the public," Sahni said.

Satish Sharma, another local, echoed similar sentiments, saying the work should have been long over.

"I think the preparations are really slow, the pace at which the construction is going on, as you can see this bridge as well as another bridge a little distance away on the same road, they are still not complete. I think they will not be finished in time for the games," said Sharma.

"I am not wanting to sound alarmist, but the reality is there is a lot more to be done, a lot of finishing work to be done," said Mike Hooper, Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Other officials from the Commonwealth Games Federation and the Indian Olympic Association voiced similar concerns.

India had initially promised to hand over the venues to Games organisers by December 31, 2009, but deadlines have been consistently been missed for building roads, ports and power plants.

Bureaucracy and red tape and difficulties in acquiring land have delayed plans to overhaul the infrastructure.

"The construction agencies have promised that they will meet deadlines but, unfortunately, we have had times when many promises were made, and then we find one reason or another that delivery hasn't been there," said Hooper.

Authorities now fear the schedule will become so tight that there will not be enough time for checks before the start of the Games.

Heightening those fears, the lights went out at a stadium on the first day of an Asian junior tennis tournament recently, forcing officials to abandon eight matches.

However, the organisers are putting up a brave face, saying that the pace has picked up and they were on course to provide a stunning spectacle.

"I can assure you one thing, these will be the best Commonwealth games ever. There is no doubt about it," said Suresh Kalmadi, Chairman of the Commonwealth games Organising Committee.

India is also trying to reassure foreign participants that it will provide foolproof security for the Commonwealth Games.

DDA overspending on Games; Delhi CM ignorant

Even as the official cost estimates to organise Commonwealth Games 2010 have gone up by a whopping 525 per cent since Delhi won the bid about eight years ago, Chief Minister Shiela Dixit seems to be completely unconcerned by it.

A Headlines Today investigation showed how the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has been overspending on various projects in the name of games.

But when Headlines Today approached the chief minister, she refused to explain the escalation in cost of organising the games. "I am not some financial expert, nor a wizard. I don't know anything about it. Go, talk to finance department about it," she replied.

When India bid for the games in 2003, it was estimated to cost Rs 1,899 crore. But after several revisions, the estimates now range from an official figure of Rs 10,000 crore to independent experts at an astounding Rs 30,000 crore.

The reasons for this astonishing cost escalation were delays and overspending in several projects. A Headlines Today investigation zeroed in on one such case where the DDA incurred some highly questionable expense to install hi-tech electronic gear in swimming pools reserved for training at Siri Fort Sports Complex and Yamuna Sports Complex.

The cost of electrifying Sirifort Sports Complex swimming pool worked out to Rs 4.7 crore and for Yamuna Sports Complex it came to around Rs 4.3 crore. But a pool with similar specifications at Chilla Sports Complex has been electrified for just Rs 28 lakh.

Vinish Khanna, the director of Adroit Water Treatment Plant, said, "We have done a lot of other pools also including DDA's Chilla Sports Complex. Chilla pools are deeper than these pools (Sirifort and Yamuna sports complexes). They have more volume of water and the same specification."

"Almost same specification fibre glass filters, same ozone generators as Chilla. It was tendered around a year back and was inaugurated as the first pool this year. The electrification of Chilla pool cost around Rs 28 lakh, while the other two 10 times of it. But it has now gone up by 20 times," Khanna added.

When confronted, the DDA verbally told Headlines Today that standards followed at Yamuna Sports Complex and Sirifort were much higher than Chilla and they have followed International Swimming Federation (FINA) guidelines. Interestingly, FINA has no guidelines whatsoever to decide electromechanical parts of pools.

Former national swimming champion Khajan Singh said, "See FINA only sets guidelines for the pool specifications and the standard of water in it. They have nothing to do with the machines used in it. Whichever machine fulfils their requirements, they are more than comfortable with it."

Plate success as Scotland secure Delhi sevens spot

SCOTLAND produced a bristling display to land the IRB World Sevens Series Plate at Murrayfield yesterday and deliver a major confidence boost to rugby's hopes of competing in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The team was under pressure after failing to reach the quarter-finals in any of the preceding seven tournaments of 2009-10, the Commonwealth Games Scotland demanding a top-eight finish as proof that they could compete in Delhi this autumn. the

Though they lost to England in a nail-biting cup quarter-final, by going on to beat South Africa and Argentina to win the Plate they effectively finished fifth in the final leg.

Samoa were crowned the IRB Sevens World Champions for the first time after an enthralling performance, but Stevie Gemmell, who now moves to another SRU role in player development after five years as sevens coach, was delighted.

He said: "It was unbelievable really. The boys were very disappointed to lose to England, but they showed real character and some great skills out there to end up winning five ties from six over the weekend, and beat top sides Fiji, USA, Wales, South Africa and Argentina.

"Their work-rate was immense and it was an outstanding effort against countries with far greater resources than ours. Scottish teams are too often knocked but this squad has provided a great lift to Scottish rugby and I hope these players can take the confidence from this into their XVs careers."

With the same Samoa squad expected to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, coach Stephen Betham said he believed they would provide new inspiration for young players in the Pacific Islands.

NZ offer SBW Commonwealth Games lure

SONNY BILL WILLIAMS has been offered the opportunity to compete at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games if he returns to New Zealand to push his claims for next year's Rugby World Cup.

All but incumbent All Blacks will be available for Commonwealth Games selection in October, and the Herald understands that the possibility of Williams representing New Zealand in India has been raised during negotiations with his manager, Khoder Nasser.

If he turns his back on a lucrative three-year deal with French club Toulon, worth $2 million a season, Williams's aim would be to make the All Blacks side for the October 30 Bledisloe Cup clash in Hong Kong, ahead of New Zealand's end-of-season tour to Europe.

But New Zealand's Sunday-Star Times reported that Williams's first rugby appearance in the national jersey could be before then, at the Commonwealth Games. He would also be eligible to represent NZ when Sevens rugby is introduced to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

The 24-year-old has already played seven rugby league Tests for the Kiwis and if he plays for the All Blacks will be the first New Zealand league international to do so.

He has never played Sevens rugby but media commentators believe the temptation to pick him for the Commonwealth Games would prove difficult to resist.

All Blacks great Jonah Lomu, who also had a league background but played rugby at senior level, was introduced to the game at international level in Sevens, and New Zealand officials have told Williams he ''could be the next Jonah Lomu'' if he accepts their offer.

According to French rugby newspaper Midi Olympique, the NZRU's deal is worth $550,000 a year and only behind those of All Blacks captain Richie McCaw and star five-eighth Dan Carter but Williams would have opportunities to earn more through third-party endorsements.

Coincidentally, the Crusaders are using the lure of playing alongside McCaw and Carter to try to get Williams to play for the Christchurch Super Rugby franchise.

Delhi gets its latest architectural marvel

Delhi will soon have a new tourist spot, just in time for the Commonwealth Games.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Memorial, an architectural marvel that promises to give an insight into the life and teachings of the Ninth Guru of Sikhs, is ready and likely to be inaugurated soon.

Constructed along National Highway 1 (GT Karnal Road) near Singh Border by Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), the memorial would be known for his architecture, design and world-class illumination.

“It has a unique concept. The central pylon represents Guru Tegh Bahadur while the three semi-arches represent his three disciples. Ten monoliths around it represents ten Sikh Gurus and disseminate their teachings,” chief engineer Jose Kurian said.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who also has the charge of the tourism department, visited the memorial on Saturday evening and commented that this architectural marvel would also be known for its greenery and soothing landscape.