No indoor stadium in Delhi park, rules high court

The Delhi High Court Wednesday objected to an indoor basketball stadium being built in a park in west Delhi for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to restore the premises to its old form.

A division bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar told the MCD to undo the construction that has come up in Ajmal Khan Park in Karol Bagh.

'All construction should be removed and the park should be restored in its initial phase,' it said.

The court asked the MCD to comply with the order and file a status report.

The high court Oct 28 reserved its order and stated, 'We cannot allow any activity in the park until and unless a proper sanction plan is submitted to us.'

Refuting the MCD's contention that Delhi's Lieutenant Governor had approved the plan for construction, the court said: 'The Lieutenant Governor is not an architect nor an engineer. You are answerable to the public at large. How can you use an ornamental park (Ajmal Khan park) for constructing a stadium when the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has clearly stated that no construction is permissible?'

The MCD had earlier contended that no other sports facility is available to the children of the locality and said: 'The basketball federation is organising camps regularly in the park for the past 40 years or so.'

The court acted on a public interest petition filed by voluntary organisation Paryavaran Evam Jan Utthan, which challenged the construction on the ground that it was not environment-friendly.

The NGO alleged that a 100-tonne AC plant would be installed at the stadium, which is very hazardous for the environment.

The proposed stadium, being constructed by the MCD at a cost of Rs.60 million, would be a world-class facility with 3,000-seating capacity. It would have 10 rooms for players and an ultra-modern gym.

Cost of 2014 Commonwealth Games rises by 81 million pounds

The budget for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is to be increased by 81 million pounds.

The organising committee for the games said funding for the event would rise to a total of 454 million pounds.

The bulk of the extra cash will come from the Scottish government. The city council will provide an additional nine million pounds.

The Scottish government will contribute an additional 39 million pounds, plus a further 20 million pounds from a reserve fund.

A total of 13 million pounds will be raised through commercial activities.

Glasgow 2014 Limited, said a number of factors including legislative changes, and in particular rising broadcasting costs, had contributed to the budget increase.

The Scottish government will continue to make the case for the recovery of 150 million pounds lottery funds diverted from Scotland to pay for the London Olympics.

Agra guides come up with their problems ahead of Commonwealth Games

Ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games, the tourist guides’ association in Agra has come up with its problems.

With the countdown for the next year’s major event beginning, it is believed that Agra would be a major draw for thousands of members from athletic delegations and foreign tourists.

The tourist guides’ association says that a list of 25 experienced guides has been provided to the authorities but they are showing favouritism by promoting just a few.

The association says it would be difficult for them to provide services to the 270-member first official delegation of the Commonwealth Games arriving in Agra.

“Till today our decision is that we will not be able to provide guides to Commonwealth Games delegation. If they (protocol department) demand for 30 guides, it would be difficult to arrange for the number since there would be other assignments,” said Shamsuddin, president of the guides’ association.

However officials said they were not aware of the issue and any outstanding matter would be sorted out.

“No delegation from the guides association has met me regarding the issue so far. The issue has come before me for the first time. I will investigate the issue keeping in view the demands of the association,” said Alok Shekhar Tiwari, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Protocol, Agra.

Court fines residents challenging highway project

The Delhi High Court Monday slapped a total fine of Rs.17,000 on petitioners challenging the Badarpur-Mathura road highway project being developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the Commonwealth Games 2010.

A division bench comprising Justices Vikaramjit Sen and V.K. Jain slapped a fine of Rs.1,000 each on the 17 petitioners who had alleged that NHAI has wrongly acquired the land for the development of the highway on the heavily congested Badarpur-Mathura road.

NHAI, developing a highway on the road to ease traffic movement for the 2010 games, contended that the land acquisition process was well within the law.

‘We would have ordinarily thought it fit to dismiss the petitions with exemplary cost of Rs.10,000 each, but in view of the fact that considerable delay had occurred in the tender of compensation, we desist from doing so,’ said the bench.

The petitioners – who own shops on the stretch – had also contended that their dislocation would severely affect their only source of livelihood.

The stretch, which includes a 3-km long six-lane elevated highway, was originally scheduled to be completed by December 2010 but the government is planning to construct it ahead of schedule for it to be ready in time for the Commonwealth Games in October 2010.

The petitioners had pleaded that the elevated corridor as developed by NHAI cannot be called as a highway but the court rejected their contention and ruled that a highway can be on the surface or above or below it.

Green Games: Thyagraja India’s first eco-friendly sports venue

Netball was played in England for the first time in 1895. At the time, there were no fixed regulations for the Games, even the nets used were ineffective — they were not open at both ends, so after each goal was scored, the umpire had to retrieve the ball from the top of the post.

Over 114 years later, India is going to get its first netball stadium being built by Delhi government's Public Works Department which has a host of interesting features.

The stadium has a capacity of 4,494. The grand structure of blue glass and shining steel comes up quite abruptly in an undisturbed neighbourhood of quarters of government officials.

It is going to be the first green stadium in India, which has taken a series of steps to ensure energy conservation.

The unique design of a glass and concrete structure with a continuous steel roof has been designed by Australian firm — Peddle Thorp. The firm has been working since 1963 and is currently operating from Brisbane, Cairns, Jakarta, Gold Coast and Shanghai. One of its latest designs include a six-star spa resort being built in the middle of the ocean — accessible only by water taxi — in Tianjin, China.

“The building has been designed keeping in mind that it can be used for any sport or recreational activities after the Commonwealth Games. We wanted to leave a legacy behind,” said project manager, Anil Pandit. There are constraints of space with merely 16 acres available to build a match court and two warm-up courts.

Roof:The 18,122 square meter roof does not have a single joint. It is a Kalzip roof built by a Japanese firm. Kalzip roofing in layman terms translates into seven layers, with each serving a different purpose. In this case, the first layer is aluminium profile which is water and vapour proof. The second layer is of rock wool — which is manmade mineral fibre and is used for insulation. The third layer is of texon sheet, which is once again waterproof. These three sheets are repeated again till there are 7 layers neatly piled on.

False ceiling:The calcium silicate tiles used for false ceiling have been made of recycled domestic waste.

Floor:The floors have been laid using recycled PVC which was imported from England.

Sports floor:Maplewood approved by Fédération Internationale de Basketball — FIBA, the International Federation of Basketball is being imported from USA for the sports floor. The floor will arrive Delhi on November 19 and the PWD engineers believe that it will put up within a week's time.

Walls:Fly ash bricks have been used to build the structure. To reduce conductivity of heat there is a cavity between the walls.

Interestingly, all ugly wires and electrical fitting are adjusted in this cavity. Similarly where glass forms the outer periphery there too there is a double layer of glass imported from France. The walls will have acousting cladding of aluminum and for the first time fireproof material has been used.

Bathroom:Interestingly, PWD has put odourless tiles in the bathroom to ensure there is no stench. The water taps are fitted with photo-sensors for minimum wastage. Water stored through rainwater harvesting will be used for flushing. The used water will be recycled at the effluent treatment plant and will be used for watering the lawns. Solid waste will also be converted into manure using a special vermi-compost plant which will be set up on the grounds.

Power:The Thyagraja stadium will have a power plant which will generate 4.5 MW. The roof of building is fitted with solar panels. These panels will produce 1 MW of power. Another 3.5 MW will be generated through CNG-based turbine. The most important aspect of this turbine is that its exhaust will power the 1300 tonne air-conditioning system of the stadium. A vapour absorption machine has been installed which will use the hot exhaust air and convert it to power for the air-conditioning plant. This will help in two ways — one is saving energy and by not leaving exhaust fumes in the atmosphere reducing air-pollution.

Delhi toes Beijing line, eco-friendly buses to ferry Games athletes

Taking inspiration from the Beijing Olympics held last year, the Delhi government, too, is keen to display its commitment towards the conservation of environment to the world. It plans to introduce ‘hybrid’ electric buses during the Commonwealth Games to be held in October 2010.

These hybrid buses will run on CNG and electric energy, and the government plans to station them at all 11 Games venues to transport athletes and spectators. It may also possibly give joyrides to inquisitive visitors.

While Delhi already has a huge base for a CNG-propelled public transport system and it has recently introduced subsidies on the cost of battery-operated cars and two-wheelers, Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said these hybrid buses would be in addition to the eco-friendly transportation structure to be provided during the Games.

“Hybrid buses were a part of the system during Beijing Olympics. Delhi, too, has a green city agenda and the event (Commonwealth Games) could be used to extend our commitment to the cause,” he said.

With the Capital expecting to have at least 2,500 low-floor and semi-floor buses by October 2010, Mehta said this would be a part of the city’s green bus agenda.

He added that while the government was still contemplating on the idea, if it worked, the buses could also be made to operate on a particular route.

In a bid to ensure zero-emission transportation during the Olympics in Beijing, the Chinese government had about 500 eco-friendly vehicles running on alternative fuels. These included 53 electric buses, 25 hybrid buses, 75 hybrid taxis, 20 fuel-cell cars and more than 320 other electric vehicles.

The hybrid electric vehicle
A hybrid electric vehicle has two sources of power. While one converts fuel (CNG in this case) into propelling energy, the other, usually an electric motor powered by an advanced storage device, lowers the demand on the first source of energy. The arrangement usually allows one or both simultaneously, depending on the situation. While electric energy can be used alone to fuel the vehicle when on a plain terrain for a given period, the two power sources can be used together when negotiating tough turns and slants.

Moradabad farmers cultivating flowers ahead of Commonwealth Games, Kumbh

In view of the upcoming 2010 Commonwealth Games and Kumbh Mela, farmers of Moradabad district in Uttar Pradesh have begun large-scale cultivation of flowers.

“We are hoping that our demand for flowers will go high. Farmers will get good returns for their hard work. So sensing the significance of the events, the farmers are now moving towards floriculture and are accepting floriculture over traditional crops,” said Ram Anand, an official [^] of agriculture department, Moradabad.

An increasing number of farmers are substituting traditional farming with flower cultivation. They are growing roses, marigolds and gebra.

“In 2010, the Commonwealth Games is going to take place in Delhi for which we are getting prepared. The demand of flowers has gone high and many people including locals and tourists come here to buy flowers,” said Rehman, a farmer.

“In 2010, the Commonwealth Games and Kumbh Mela is going to take place, so during that we are expecting our business to grow and for that we are growing various flowers like marigold, rose and others so that we can supply them,” said Pankaj Kumar, another farmer.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be India’s first major international sports event after the 1982 Asian Games.

Delhi had bagged the contract after beating the Canadian city Hamilton in the bid for rights to host the games.