Swimming: Injury forces Australian Rice out of Commonweath Games

Australia's triple Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice will have shoulder surgery and miss the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October, the emotional swimmer said Thursday.

Rice, in California to compete in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, said she could no longer swim through the pain caused by inflammation in her right shoulder and would have surgery, probably within a fortnight.

"Obviously it's a big disappointment to me," said Rice, whose week at the PanPacs is also done. "I have to think about the bigger picture, and that's definitely London 2012."

The 22-year-old, who won Olympic gold in Beijing in the 200m and 400m individual medleys and in the 4x200m freestyle relay, was the highest profile member of the 48-strong squad named by Australia in March at the conclusion of their national championships.

But she has battled pain in her shoulder that has hindered her training.

When her shoulder came up sore after she posted a personal best in the 50m butterfly here on Wednesday, she and coach Michael Bohl agreed surgery couldn't be put off any longer.

"As disappointing as it is, I think it's the right decision," said Rice, who broke down in tears when talking to an Australian television crew but composed herself to continue discussing her plans.

"It's going to be really hard to watch the team go away and watch everyone race," Rice said.

She said the surgery would be a "clean-out" rather than reconstruction.

"They have told me rehab is 12 weeks, I guess four weeks out of the water if the surgery goes well," she said.

Despite the disappointment, Rice said it was a relief to have a plan in place, after months of coping with the injury on a day-by-day basis.

But Australian head coach Leigh Nugent admitted her loss was a big blow to the team, but indicated it would be worth it if Rice is at full strength for the 2012 Olympics in London.

"She's the spearhead of our women's team, if not the whole team," Nugent said. "We'll be taking a step backward to take a step forward in the future."

Railways funds for Games after checking credentials: Mamata

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee  Thursday said the Rs.100 crore her ministry promised for the Commonwealth Games would be released only after authenticity of the expenditure was checked with the Games Organising Committee.

Replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the supplementary demands for grants of her ministry, Banerjee said the commitment of Rs.100 crore for the Oct 3-10 mega event was made by her in the railway budget in February.

‘This is an important issue. We had promised Rs.100 crore in the budget. But we have not yet worked out the modalities of how the funds should be given for the Commonwealth (Games). We will give it only after checking the credentials of the expenditure,’ Banerjee said.

She was responding to a volley of questions raised by MPs, including Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Harin Pathak, during the debate.

Pathak initiated the debate and sought to know how the railway funds for the Games were being used in the wake of allegations of corruption related to the super sporting event.

He said some public sector units were withdrawing their sponsorship of the Games as suspicions were raised that funds were being diverted to favour some individuals.

‘Since the PSUs are withdrawing sponsorship, the Games Organising Committee has identified the railways, State Bank of India and Air India to get the funds. The allegations of corruption have raised suspicion that the funds meant for the Games are being diverted for personal gain,’ he said.

This was Banerjee’s first appearance in parliament since her Aug 9 rally in Lalgarh in West Midnapore district where she made a controversial statement on Maoists by raising questions about guerrilla leader Azad’s killing in a police shootout.

She attended the house for the supplementary demands for grants worth Rs.489 crore for her ministry. The demand was granted by the house through a voice vote after her nearly 30-minute speech in the Lok Sabha.

The Trinamool Congress chief has invited criticism from opposition parties on the rising number of train accidents, her long and continuous absence from Delhi and her running the railway ministry from West Bengal where assembly polls are due next year.

22 complaints of CWG irregularities with probe agencies

A total of 22 complaints related to alleged irregularities in various Commonwealth Games related projects have been received by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the Rajya Sabha was informed Thursday.

Replying to a question in the upper house, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan said that eight complaints regarding alleged irregularities were received by the CBI and 14 such complaints were received in the CVC.

Chavan said the CVC, as part of its routine work, has undertaken intensive examination of works related to the Games.

"The commission in its inquiry found that works were awarded at higher rates and the quality was also not up to the mark. Further, ineligible agencies were also awarded the works," said Chavan.

Guilty will be punished after Games: Sonia (Lead)

Breaking her silence on charges of murky deals involving the Commonwealth Games, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Thursday said those found guilty would be punished after the event and exhorted everyone to make the Games successful.

Describing the Commonwealth Games as a matter of national pride, she said the event was not related to any political party or individual. "It was a matter of national pride and efforts should be made to hold them successfully, she said here.

Addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP), Gandhi, however, made it clear that that those found guilty of corruption in projects related to the Games should be punished after the event.

She also referred to the Group of Ministers set up by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to look into the preparations for the Games and asked everyone involved to make the Games successful.

This was the first meeting of CPP since the monsoon session of parliament began July 26. Gandhi is set to be re-elected as the Congress president in the party elections scheduled for Sep 17.

Gandhi also voiced her concern over the situation in the Kashmir Valley and said efforts should be made to reach out to the people of the region.

Queens Baton reaches Tirupati

The Queens Baton for the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG) reached the temple town, the last tour in Andhra Pradesh, today evening to a rousing reception.

Chittoor District collector V Seshadri received the Baton from District Olympic Association Secretary G Krishna Reddy and later, the collector handed it over to Asian silver medalist in atheltics S Anjaneyulu Naidu at the outskirts of the temple town to formally flag-off the relay.

The relay passed through the main streets in the temple town by national and International sportspersons and reached Mahathi Auditorium, where the relay concluded.

The Baton will be kept at Mahathi Auditorium for public display before taken to Chennai
tomorrow morning.

Delhi Zoo getting a make-over ahead of the Games

Set to get two AC food courts, a souvenir shop, ATM facility and spruced up enclosures

Delhi Zoo, one of the oldest zoological gardens in the country, is getting a facelift ahead of the Commonwealth Games in the city. Spread over 200 acres, the zoo is home to several species of animals and birds and has 200 varieties of trees to boast about.

“The zoo will undergo a make-over as part of the upcoming Commonwealth Games. It is all set to have two air-conditioned food courts, a souvenir shop, new sign boards, ATM facility and more importantly spruced up enclosures for its inmates,” said a senior zoo official.

The zoo had earlier approached the Union Environment and Forests Ministry to release funds for the mega overhaul work that it is undertaking. “The scale at which the overhauling is being undertaken required support from the Union Government as this is probably the biggest modernisation exercise that we are undertaking,” he added.

Work on the souvenir shop is almost complete and the ATM of the Union Bank of India is also being put up.

The zoo authorities are also renovating the old cloak room and modifying the director's office. “New roads are being built within the complex and we are also looking at bringing in new inmates. To facilitate easy travel within the complex, battery-operated vehicles are also being brought in,” said a zoo official.

The zoo is hoping to see many tourists coming to the complex and the modernisation work is expected to make the experience a pleasant one. The authorities are also providing improved parking facilities and more guides to ensure that visitors do not face any sort of harassment.

MCD cancels staff leave till end of rains

With the Commonwealth Games  approaching and the fear of a dengue epidemic looming large, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided to get its act together. On Wednesday, MCD cancelled all sanctioned leave  of its staff, announcing that it would not give leave to any of its employees till the monsoon season is over and claimed that employees of the public health department would have to work on weekends too.

Said MCD commissioner K S Mehra: "We will not give any leave to any of our employees till the monsoon is over and public health department officials will now work on weekends. Staff of other departments will also be available as per requirement."

The total number of dengue cases in the city were 297 with 20 fresh cases being reported on Wednesday. While there has been one death due to dengue in the city, there are three suspected deaths due to the vector-borne disease. According to MCD commissioner K S Mehra, fogging would be carried out twice near Commonwealth Games construction sites to prevent mosquito breeding in such areas.

Mosquito breeding was also found in MCD’s own headquarters in Town Hall and its horticulture and works departmental offices. Mehra said action would be initiated against the official who had not taken adequate steps to prevent breeding. MCD has issued 136 ‘VIP challans’ against offices of various agencies such as Delhi Development Authority, PWD, Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Transport Corporation, Central Public Works Department, several government and MCD schools, colleges such as Hansraj, Gargi, Ambedkar, Shivaji and hospitals like Apollo, IHBAS, etc.

MCD has 456 hand-held fogging machines and 10 vehicle-mounted machines. Around six of the vehicle-mounted machines are not functional.