Delhi Metro’s lines to IGI, Badarpur will open next week

There’s good news for the city. Delhi Metro’s two remaining sections — Airport Express Line and Central Secretariat to Badarpur — will be opened for public use next week. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is in the process of getting the mandatory certification from Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS).

The two lines will become operational soon, marking the completion of Phase II of Delhi Metro construction. Two stations on the Airport Express Line, however, will not open before the Commonwealth Games.

According to sources, the 25-km long fast link to IGI airport will be inspected by CMRS on September 27 and 28. The concessionaire of the line, Reliance Infra, has submitted the necessary documentation and pre-work for the inspection. After the safety certification comes through, the line will be opened.

‘‘ It is expected that the line will be opened within a day or two of the inspection . Two stations, Dhaula Kuan and Delhi Aerocity, will only be opened after the Commonwealth Games as construction of these is not complete yet,’’ said sources. The CMRS will also inspect the extention of Line 3 from Dwarka Sector 9 to Sector 21 on September 29, which will link Line 3 to Airport Line.

The Airport Link, which has a designed speed of 135kmph, will connect New Delhi Railway station (NDRS) and Dwarka sector 22 and stop at IGI on the way. It has three more designated stops at Shivaji Terminus, Dhaula Kuan and Delhi Aerocity. The line has been modelled on the Heathrow Express in London and the Hong Kong Metro airport link.

The airline and baggage check-in counters are being provided at the NDRS, Shivaji terminus and Dhaula Kuan metro stations, which will also start after the Games.

As for the Badarpur line, construction on which has been paced up by DMRC, the corporation is in the process of completing documentation to submit to CMRS by this week. The inspection is expected to take place next week, around September 20-30 , soon after which this line will also open.

‘‘ The Badarpur line had the shortest time for construction and last minute finishing work is still going on at the stations and on the last three kms of the line from Sarita Vihar to Badarpur. It will open by next week,’’ sources said.

The 20.16-km line, which connects Commonwealth Games venues including JN Stadium, is expected to open for public use by September end cutting down travel time from Central Secretariat to Badarpur to just 40 minutes.

It has stations at Central Secretariat , Khan Market, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Jangpura , Lajpat Nagar, Moolchand , Kailash Colony, Nehru Place, Kalkaji Mandir, Govindpuri , Okhla, Jasola, Sarita Vihar, Mohan Estate, Tughlaqabad and Badarpur.

'CWG preparations have dented India's image'

With India’s preparedness for Commonwealth Games coming under intense international scrutiny and the organisers trying to finish work after long-past deadlines, Congress is worried over the image deficit it may cause the party and the government.

Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday admitted that shoddy preparations have dented the image of the country. “It is pretty depressing to read such things in the international media. India’s image has taken a beating,” Mr Ramesh told a private TV channel. “We are amongst the fastest growing economies. We could have done without this embarrassment,” he added.

International and national media have, over the past few days, focussed on “filthy” and “uninhabitable” conditions at the Games Village. Many in the party share Mr Ramesh’s views on the issue. Although the party has so far been successful in insulating itself from charges of corruption, there is fear that the CWG debacle would make it vulnerable to attack from its rivals.

“There is open criticism everywhere. The man on the street is saying why didn’t the government intervene earlier,” said a party leader who did not wish to be identified.

He also said that there were obvious comparisons on the show India put up in the 1982 Asiad Games and how the UPA government is struggling to put things together in 2010. “When we look back what will we remember of these games — that we struggled to finish work and there were corruption charges,” said the leader.

“I agree we should not have given anyone a chance to point a finger at us,” Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said. He, however, chose to see the recent criticism by sporting contingents as “stereotyping”.

Meanwhile, in Mumbai, Congress leaders have begun piling up pressure on the party to take action against Suresh Kalmadi. MPCC spokesman Anant Gadgil told a news agency that Mr Kalmadi, who brought “disgrace” to Maharashtra, should quit from all party posts.

“Leaders like Lokmanya Tilak, BR Ambedkar, YB Chavan and Shankarrao Chavan made Maharashtra proud in Delhi and the country. In the golden jubilee year of Maharashtra, Kalmadi has disgraced such leadership heritage and maligned the state’s image,” Mr Gadgil said.

Keith Roney, 62, competes in his fourth Commonwealth Games

Keith Roney is anxious to address one of the few remaining voids in his highly successful lawn bowling career.

The 62-year-old Reginan has competed for Canada at three Commonwealth Games without bringing home a medal. He hopes that will change at the 2010 Games, which are set for Oct. 3-14 in New Delhi, India.

"We've been knocking on the door at the Commonwealth Games — at least on the teams that I've been on,'' Roney said. "We've just come up a little bit short. We're hoping to improve on the close calls.''

Roney previously bowled at the Games in 1998 (in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as part of Canada's men's fours team), 2002 (Manchester, England; men's fours) and 2006 (Melbourne, Australia; men's pairs). This time around, he is to bowl in men's pairs alongside 44-year-old Michel Larue of Longueuil, Que.

"We were close in Kuala Lumpur,'' Roney recalled. "It was a bit unfortunate. We wound up having three ties, and a 3-3-3 record. If the ties had been converted into wins, we would have gotten a medal. Could've been, should've been . . .''

Four years later, Roney & Co. were eliminated in a quarterfinal in Manchester. Roney and Larue then teamed up for the 2006 Games.

"We've got a bit of unfinished business,'' Roney said. "At the past Commonwealth Games, we lost a semifinal for a medal. We want to improve on that result.''

That said, it is difficult to improve on the results Roney has achieved since becoming a member of Bowls Canada's national team in 1988. He has travelled the world, competing in the most prestigious lawn bowling events.

Most notably, Roney teamed up with Ryan Bester of Hanover, Ont., to win the world pairs title in 2004 in Ayr, Scotland — where Roney and Bester became the first Canadians to finish first in an event at the worlds since the event began in 1966. As well, Roney was part of Canada's men's triples team that won a bronze medal at the 2008 worlds in Christchurch, New Zealand.

"It has sort of been an amazing ride,'' marvelled Roney, who was the curator of life sciences at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum until retiring in 2006.

"It's still quite a commitment to play at a high level, although age is not a factor. It's just a matter of staying in shape and maintaining the skill level.''

That can be difficult when the Regina Lawn Bowling Club's greens are covered with snow. As a result, Roney routinely competes in temperate areas of the United States during January and February.

As a tuneup for the Commonwealth Games, Roney and his fellow members of the national team recently competed against the United States' elite bowlers in Milwaukee. He hopes that the impressive showing in Wisconsin will serve as a catalyst for greater successes in India.

"It really doesn't get much cooler,'' Roney said of competing in the Commonwealth Games on behalf of his country. "I've done it for a number of years, but it never loses its edge or its thrill.

"It's always there, and it's always an honour to play for Canada and compete — especially when you march into the stadium and you're wearing the Canadian maple leaf. No matter how many times you do that, it's still very exciting. There's really not much that can compare to it.''

Except, perhaps, for winning an elusive Commonwealth Games medal.

"I'm so hungry I can taste it,'' Roney said.

Commonwealth shame scores high on Twitter

India jumped into the world’s twitter map on Thursday. The collapse of a bridge, coupled with the flash of photographs of filthy Games Village across cyberspace, has made the keywords ‘CWG’ and ‘Commonwealth Games’ as the seventh and 10th most tweeted topic in the world by the 190 million twitter community, this week.

Tweet trends in the UK and Australia show ‘Commonwealth’ as the most popular tweeted topic. India’s twitter map also shows CWG, and #CWG as the top-most tweeted keyword, followed by ‘Kalmadi’, ‘Ayodhya’, and ‘Verdict’.

The tweets started pouring from across the world as one of the most accessed news websites in the world, put India’s Commonwealth shame as lead stories on their home page on Thursday. The barrage of tweets from across the world peaked around 2 pm IST on Wednesday, and 3 pm on Thursday.

News coupled with splash of pictures of UK-based DailyMail’s expose of filthy conditions inside some rooms of the Games Village, resulted in angry comments from the world’s 190 million Twitter community. India’s shame splashed across world’s top media sites, made the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh himself step and take charge of the matter.

Some of the overseas web magazines tweeted about pullout of their local sportsmen, while individual tweeters showered sarcasm on India’s readiness. ‘Cyclingweekly’ magazine service tweeted: Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas have withdrawn from the Isle of Man and Welsh teams for the Commonwealth Games.

‘Djmaxwell’ from Britain said: “Commonwealth games athletes village...I feel sick. Team GB, don’t go!” “Doctor_Hutch from Australia said: “Commonwealth Games kit just arrived. They forgot the chest waders and the biohazard suit.”
Not only on microblogging sites like Twitter, the callous attitude of the Commonwealth Games organising authorities, is also being lambasted by social networkers on Facebook.

Users in India have created forums and groups lambasting the slackness of the organising committee. One of these groups is called Jhel (bear) The Commonwealth Games. The group with over 2000 members has designed its own logo and distributing black bands to protest against the corruption in the Games.

However, there are other groups as well upbeat about the games. Youth volunteers who are likely to help in the organising of the games, are upbeat on this Facebook Group Commonwealth Games XIX, and post regular updates and coordinate for sporty event, despite the media criticism.

Scots fly out to Commonwealth Games but big clean-up still isn't finished

THE vanguard of Scotland's Commonwealth Games squad will fly out to Delhi today as last-minute work continues to prepare their accommodation.
• Security is tight at New Delhi Airport as the athletes, among them those from England who will initially stay in hotels, fly in for the Games

Scores of competitors will touch down in the Indian capital at 9:30am tomorrow and will be taken straight to the athletes' village complex to begin preparing for their shot at glory.

Unlike their English counterparts, the Scots competitors will not stay in hotels initially, with team officials satisfied that outstanding hygiene at the much-criticised accommodation blocks are close to being resolved.

Nonetheless, the chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) said he expected there would be "challenges ahead", after a week in which the nation's participation was in serious doubt due to health and safety concerns.

As the first wave of competitors leave for Delhi from Glasgow airport this afternoon. The confidence in the Scottish camp about the readiness of the Games site is not shared throughout other home nations squads, with further call-offs yesterday from athletes who believe the risks to be too great.

Any threat to the Games taking place now appears to have receded as athletes from all nations make their way to Delhi. Even so, criticism towards the host nation remains fierce, with a senior Australian official saying that India should not have been awarded the Games.

As far as Scotland is concerned, the team's chef de mission, Jon Doig, has confirmed that progress is being made after concerns that the facility was not fit for purpose.

Michael Cavanagh, chairman of CGS, said: "I am delighted that the board has been able to confirm our intention to fly to the Games on Saturday as hoped.

"There will undoubtedly be challenges ahead in Delhi, but we are confident that these can be effectively managed by our team management, who have done a fantastic job over the last week to ensure we could get to this position, and we thank them for their unstinting efforts."

A party of 41 athletes and staff delayed their departure to India on Tuesday after complaints about conditions.

The Scottish team is travelling out in groups and those due to leave tomorrow are from archery, lawn bowls, shooting, tennis and weightlifting.

The first group of 41 did not travel earlier this week following concerns over conditions in Delhi. These athletes - rugby players, boxers and wrestlers - are now expected to travel on Tuesday. In all, Scotland will be sending 192 athletes, with scheduled flights also booked for Sunday and Thursday

Some competitors will travel in from other training and competition locations worldwide.

While England have temporarily housed some athletes in hotels as work continues in the village, a spokeswoman for CGS told The Scotsman that competitors would be taken directly to the accommodation blocks.

Willie Wood, the 72-year-old bowler who is due to compete at his eighth Commonwealth Games, said: "I am absolutely delighted to hear that we will be travelling to Delhi as planned.

"It's great to see that things have moved on significantly from the start of the week and I can now focus on competing."

At least eight nations expressed reservations over the preparations for the Games, with teams hitting out at accommodation for athletes described as "unfit for human habitation".

Earlier this week, officials from Team Scotland released a series of photographs showing flooding and debris in the athletes' quarters.

Individual athletes, including reigning Commonwealth triple jump champion Phillips Idowu, have decided not to attend because of safety fears.

England's Russell Downing and Greg Henderson of New Zealand were the latest road cyclists to withdraw following four of their Team Sky colleagues on Thursday.

Henderson, 34, said: "There are just too many risks and in this situation the cons outweigh the pros. It's about my family. I've got to think about my wife and little girl Charlie, and they don't want me going to the Commonwealth Games."

As well as the condition of the accommodation which will be home to 7,000 athletes and officials from 71 nations, doubts over the Games intensified when a footbridge to the main stadium collapsed and the roof of the weightlifting venue fell in.

Speaking yesterday, Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said India should not have been awarded the Games, adding that the Commonwealth Games Federation lacked the resources to monitor the progress of construction deadlines.

But Shona Robison, the Scottish sports minister, said: "I am delighted that Commonwealth Games Scotland now feel they are in a position to confirm that our athletes will travel to compete. The Scottish Government and its partners have been working hard to ensure that Team Scotland participates in the Delhi Games and I would like to commend our athletes for their positive attitude during a very challenging time."

Ms Robison said she received assurances from Indian sports minister Manohar Singh Gill yesterday that health and safety concerns are being addressed and plans to hold further talks.

Two years after CYG, work still goes on

Civic body may push for March 2012 deadline to complete road, parking projects

Even as New Delhi races with time to clear the mess and make the Capital ready for the Commonwealth Games (CWG), work is still on to complete many infrastructure projects sanctioned for the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) hosted by Pune in October 2008.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) was approved Rs 422 crore for 40 projects to upgrade infrastructure, mainly roads. Struggling till the eleventh hour, the civic body made it just about enough to hold the event.

According to an estimate, work on at least 50 per cent of the sanctioned projects is still on. Five projects have not taken off at all and the PMC is now seeking an extension of the deadline to March 2012.

The PMC agrees there has been a delay, but claims 95 per cent of the work has been completed at an expenditure of Rs 330 crore against the estimated Rs 422 crore. Development of roads, parking terminals and pedestrian paths, along the route from the airport to the venues, was the main work sanctioned. The Union government had approved the projects in two phases, road development in March 2007 and terminal facilities in September 2008.

The major road works still on include the stretch from the Airport Road to the Deccan College, Airport Road to Vishrantwadi Chowk, Baner Gaothan to Balewadi Gaothan, FC Road to the Agriculture College junction and Sancheti Hospital to Sangam Bridge.

Work on roads from the railway station to M G Road, railway station to RTO junction and Shivajinagar to Ganeshkhind Road, is also not over yet. Of the 12 parking terminals approved, work on five, including one at Baner, near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex in Balewadi, has not started at all.

“The main reason for the delay was hurdles in land acquisition. The worka are being completed as per land availability. However, we will seek extension of the deadline to March 2012,” said Vinay Deshpande, Officer on Special Duty, who is also in charge of the JNNURM cell of PMC.

In some places where land has been acquired against the wishes of the owners, the civic body si facing stiff resistance as the owners want compensation before work starts. “It is obvious they will oppose if they have not received compensation. They are not even allowing cutting of trees on the land,” Deshpande said.

On the likelihood of the delay pushing up project cost, he said it won’t be much as the work is on and only parts of each project were incomplete. “Land acquisition is taking time in case of Defence, Court and Survey of India lands. The process to acquire land is on,” Deshpande said. Deshpande agreed that work on the five parking terminals has not yet begun.

'Swift action' still needed over athletes' village

While Scotland gave the green light yesterday for their athletes to travel out to the Commonwealth Games, English officials in Delhi warned that "more and swift action" was required to make the athletes' village fit for habitation.

Having delayed the departure of their first wave of competitors, who had been scheduled to fly from Glasgow on Thursday, Team Scotland announced yesterday that they would start sending athletes as of today. "There will undoubtedly be challenges ahead in Delhi," Michael Cavendish, the chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, said, "but we are confident that these can be effectively managed by our team management, who have done a fantastic job over the last week to ensure we could get to this position."

Scottish officials had expressed severe concerns about the state of the athletes' village earlier in the week and their English counterparts, despite having given the go-ahead to their athletes on Thursday, remained far from satisfied with conditions yesterday. The first group of English athletes arrived in Delhi in the morning and were taken to hotels in the city. The lawn bowlers will be accommodated there, as had already been planned, but the hockey team are expected to move into the village when it is deemed fit for use.

Craig Hunter, England's chef de mission, said: "In the village the level of activity continues to pick up and we are looking at the detail, making sure that fire and safety equipment and procedures are in place and that the apartments are clean and safe. Our next wave of athletes arrives on Sunday and a lot still needs to happen before then. So more and swift action is required".

Hockey players James Tindall and Ben Middleton made an early visit to the village. Middleton said: "The flats are spacious – which is good for a major Games – but there are bits and pieces to be done to bring them up to standard. A couple of days will make a difference."

Mike Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said he had been heartened by the "considerable improvements'' made to the facilities in the athletes' village. New Zealand officials have confirmed their team will travel and Australia are preparing to receive their athletes in the village.