Map's Ready For Common Wealth Games 2010,But Not The Roads

In 20 months from now, when the Commonwealth Games begin, a Ring Road bypass is expected to reduce travel time between the Games Village and other sporting venues spread across the Capital. However, construction of the 5.5 km road project is yet to start.

The Ring Road bypass is just one of the much-delayed road infrastructure projects that would ensure that athletes and visitors can smoothly reach the sporting venues, situated in different corners of the city According to a recent report submitted to the Delhi government by the engineering wing of Public Works Department (PWD), the agency constructing most infrastructure projects in the Capital, physical progress on most Games-related projects is poor.

The Barapullah drain elevated road project is just seven per cent complete. The elevated road promises to reduce travel time between the Games Village and the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, one of the main sporting venues, from 45 minutes to 12-15 minutes. PWD engineers insist planning of most projects was done well in time and they attribute any delay to a multiplicity of agencies and their delayed approvals. "Delhi Urban Arts Commission had in principle approved our design for the Ring Road bypass project in December 2007. Later, it raised certain objections and we had to carry out the drill again.

Despite the fact that we were losing crucial time, the DUAC did not give us permission and we had to approach the Lieutenant Governor to start construction," said a senior PWD engineer on condition of anonymity "Many issues have delayed the projects related to the Commonwealth Games. Even though PWD wants to expedite the projects, it cannot do so unless there is a unified transport authority or an appellate body where all the concerned agencies come together," said PK Sarkar of School of Planning and Architecture. "Decisions have to be taken at a single platform instead of moving around from agency to agency Only then can all hurdles be cleared," he said.

Indian Tourist Transporters Association demands tax sops to procure new vehicles for the Commonwealth Games in 2010

Indian Tourist Transporters Association (ITTA) has asked the central and state governments to grant tax concessions for the procurement of new vehicles for the Commonwealth Games 2010 in New Delhi. The demand was voiced by Sarab Jit Singh, President, ITTA at the two-day annual conference of the Association in New Delhi last week (September 26 &27). Ambika Soni, Union Minister for Tourism & Culture, who inaugurated the conference, urged the tourist transporters to set benchmarks for the Commonwealth Games. Soni also informed the gathering that the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has asked for separate serial codes called ‘TV’ for tourist vehicles to be identified and also single window tax collection for tourist vehicles from the Ministry of Shipping & Surface Transport. The other delegates present during the conference were A K Walia, Finance Minister, Delhi; Haroon Yusuf, Transport Minister, Delhi; and VK Duggal, Indian Union Home Secretary.

At the conference Singh put forward three important demands for the centre and state governments to consider. He asked for the transporters to be permitted duty-free import of foreign vehicles to be deployed during the Games and also demanded exemption from excise duty and VAT for vehicles purchased in the country. As a third incentive, ITTA asked MoT to consider five per cent interest subsidy on finance borrowed from financial institutions and banks for procurement of new vehicles, similar to MoT’s current assistance to tourism infrastructure development projects in remote areas.

Singh also informed that the tourist transporters required to make an estimated investment of Rs. 700 to 800 crore to procure new fleet of vehicles for the Games. “ITTA’s own estimate is that Commonwealth Games Committee will require minimum of 4,000 vehicles. This includes both Indian and imported vehicles,” stated Singh. He also urged the Games Organising Committee to come out with clear guidelines as to the number of vehicles required so that transporters can start the ground work for the same.

While making huge investment on procuring new fleet, transporters also fear a lull or slow down in the business after the Games. “It must be noted that there has been a lull in demand and business in China after the Olympics, as also in Melbourne after the 2006 Commonwealth Games. In view of the sudden high demand of vehicles for the Games and the expected lull subsequently, we want the centre and the state governments to come forward with necessary assistance to make our investments viable and sustainable in the long run,” Singh concluded.

In View of Commonwealth Games 2010 Haryana Tourism to launch Bed and Breakfast scheme in NCR

Keeping in mind the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010, Haryana Tourism plans to launch a Bed and Breakfast scheme in the National Capital Region (NCR) on the lines of Delhi. The State Government is in the process of preparing the Enabling Act, which is already being implemented in Delhi.

Keshni Anand Arora, Secretary Tourism, Government of Haryana says, “The Department of Tourism will shortlist the houses and guest houses with better infrastructure and facilities to accommodate the guests under the scheme. It will also help to generate revenue for the department.”

Govt Committee For Fast Execution Of Power Projects For Commonwealth Games 2010

The government has constituted a monitoring committee, to be headed by Power Secretary Anil Razdan, to expedite the commissioning of power projects for the Commonwealth Games.

"High Level Monitoring Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Power) to monitor and expedite the implementation of these projects," Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The government has identified five projects that would supply power for the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

The projects include National Capital Thermal Power Project at Dadri, Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project at Jhajjar, Mejia Thermal Power Station and Durgapur Steel Thermal Power Plant in West Bengal and Koderma Thermal Power Plant in Jharkhand.

All these projects are expected to be commissioned as scheduled, though there are minor delays of four-five months at the initial stages of construction activities in case of Durgapur and Koderma power projects, the paper said.

Meanwhile, the government also said that growth in power generation is falling short of the rate of growth in demand for electricity, due to inadequate capacity addition, non-availability of coal, gas and nuclear fuel.

Steps are being taken to improve the power supply position in the country, including augmentation of generating capacity, development of a number of ultra mega power projects of 4,000 Mw capacity each and taking up new hydro-power projects in Bhutan for import of hydro-power into India.

Commonwealth Games 2010 security to be reevaluated after attacks in Mumbai

The Commonwealth Games Federation is to reevaluate security planning for the 2010 games in New Delhi in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai that left more than 120 people dead.

Games chiefs met with security officials and state police in Delhi earlier this month to discuss security issues but a fresh assessment will be made following this week's events.

"We constantly monitor the security situation as part of our preparations and we will make sure that the arrangements are appropriate to the threat level that our advisors tell us is there," said CGF chief executive Michael Hooper.

"There is an ongoing security review but it is impossible to give cast-iron guarantees.

"Clearly the security assessment today will be very different from last week, but we will react accordingly. The security forces and administration in India is very good and we have an excellent relationship with them.

"The commitment is there and they realise it is an ongoing issue and that we need to be as vigilant as possible. We are all working towards the same aim of delivering a safe and secure games."

The CGF has recent experience dealing with terrorist threats. The Commonwealth Youth Games were held in Pune last month a matter of weeks after a series of bombs exploded in Delhi.

"We sent our security team out to Pune to meet with security officials and they made a number of changes based on the changing situation that satisfied our concerns and delivered a strong and effective security presence at the games," Hooper said.

"Unfortunately this is a fact of the world we live in. If you asked Beijing, London or any major host city they would tell you the same thing."

Will the Commonwealth Games 2010 leave New Delhi?

WITH HARDLY two years to go for the Commonwealth Games 2010, doubts have arisen as to whether the Games would move to some other location since the work is not progressing satisfactorily as per the Committee. The four-yearly Games featuring 71 teams from the Commonwealth countries are due to be held in the Indian capital of New Delhi from October 3 to 14, 2010.

The dispute is regarding the location of the games village. It is to be built on the banks of the river Yamuna, where the construction is likely to destroy the river bed, as claimed by environmentalists. Environmental groups protested and raised the issue with the high court and successfully got a probe setup by the Delhi High Court to investigate. Findings are still on-going.

If the problems regarding the construction of the games village are not resolved on immediate priority and with less than two years left for the games, there might not be enough time to relocate and build the facilities to house the 8,500 athletes and officials so late into the schedule. Even the new cycling velodrome construction is being delayed due to tender issues currently.

The committee headed by Austin Sealy, the chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation co-ordination committee, will undertake another inspection of the venues in March and reassess the situation. However, the Indian Olympic Association president, Suresh Kalmadi is much more optimistic and has assured the media and the Commonwealth Games organising committee that the venues will be completed on time.

With elections in Delhi on the anvil, there might be apprehensions in the minds of the organising committee that in case there is a change of guard in the administration, many things might get bogged down in still more controversies. That has been our tradition – whenever a new setup comes to power, it tries to undo the deeds of the predecessors.

It might be recalled that India had held the prestigious Asian Games in 1982 and the capital got the Asiad village apart from a fleet of sleek buses nicknamed as Asiad buses which can even now be seen on selected routes. The administrators of 1982 were tough ones – it was the era of Indira Gandhi and the television switched over to the colour mode to transmit live the games into the living rooms. The Commonwealth Games is a matter of prestige for the country and already the metro rail is a gift that Delhites would appreciate on the occasion. But a lot more has to be done. Since the honour of the country is at stake, people should rise above petty party politics and join hands to clear all hurdles.

Most importantly, no one should create impediments just to promote his cause and gain media coverage.

More Hotel Rooms In Delhi by 2010 Commonwealth Games

The tourism ministry will form a panel to suggest measures to increase the availability of hotel rooms before the 2010 Commonwealth Games,which will be held here.

Based on the report of the panel, the ministry will come out with schemes. The government is expecting one-lakh visitors at the games.

"The whole focus is to create additional accommodation facilities and ensure that there is enough room for all. Besides, short supply has been driving up room rates, which we need to counter," a senior tourism ministry official said.

At present, there are only about 11,000 rooms in star-category hotels in the National Capital Region, against the ministry's estimate of 30,000 more rooms during the games.

The official said that going by the present trend, only 2,000 more rooms would be available.

The government has given a five-year tax holiday to two-, three- and four-star hotels and convention centres in Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad.

Besides, upgradation and renovation of existing hotel rooms will be done, the official said.

Attaching high priority to the safety of players and tourists, the government has decided to train 30,000 volunteers.

The ministry has also introduced a short training scheme to sensitise the youth.

The ministry has also requested the hotels to upgrade the infrastructure and be ready for the games, the official said, adding that the Haryana government is in the process of upgrading the tourism complexes run by its tourism department.