British supplier caught up in Delhi games price-hiking row

• Startling disparity in cost of items supplied by ES Group
• Fears for games as organisers' budget balloons

A British event-organising company that works with international stars including Elton John, Rihanna and Green Day has been dragged into the growing number of scandals gripping the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

ES Group is part of a consortium accused of charging inflated prices for supplying items to the games, which are becoming increasingly mired in controversy ahead of the opening ceremony on 3 October.

The company and its partners charged organisers £64 each for 360 tissue paper dispensers. Comparable items were available for just £9 from another games supplier. It supplied 176 rubbish bins at £104 each, compared with the £16 charged by another group. And the 20 sinks it supplied each cost – at £501 a time – more than double those provided by a rival.

The huge price differences appear to highlight the failure of the games' organisers to keep a check on the budget, which has ballooned from £260m to £1.4bn. The overspending, coupled with growing evidence of corruption, nepotism and shoddy work by contractors, last week prompted the leader of India's ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, to threaten dire consequences for those found to have sullied the country's reputation. "The prestige of the nation is involved," she said.

Allegations of corruption have dogged the games for weeks and have so far led to the suspension of two senior officials and the resignation of a third. Games treasurer Anil Khanna resigned amid claims that the contract for laying tennis courts went to an Australian company headed in India by his son. Veteran opposition politician Lalu Prasad Yadav has described the games as "an organised looting operation".

Large-scale irregularities are suspected at 16 venues, according to the Indian government's own anti-corruption agency, the Central Vigilance Commission. The chairman of the games' organising committee, Suresh Kalmadi, has faced repeated calls to go.

The London launch of the Queen's Baton relay, the traditional curtain-raiser to the Commonwealth Games, is already under investigation after the contract was handed over without tender or competition to a man who is barred as a company director in the UK until 2017. It later emerged that organisers had agreed to pay his company £450 a day for taxis for the event.

Not surprisingly, sponsors have been aghast at the negative publicity. Two companies have withdrawn their sponsorship entirely.

With just six weeks to go until the opening ceremony, Delhi is disfigured by torn-up streets and mounds of rubble. Work is still going on around the stadiums, which were meant to be finished by March but which Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell last week admitted are still in need of remediation. City officials say many roads will not be surfaced before the middle of September at the earliest, with the possibility that some will have to wait until after the games are over.

Government watchdogs have found that quality certificates for much of the completed work are suspect or faked. Water poured through the roof and walls of the weightlifting stadium during its public handover.

Four groups were selected to fit out the stadiums with non-permanent items known as overlays. ES Group won a £20m contract under the name ESAJV D Art Indo, covering three venues, a temporary stadium for the rugby and 18 training facilities. An inventory of these items seen by the Observer shows huge variations between the amount charged by the different groups for comparable items. In some areas, ES is markedly cheaper, but in others its prices are inexplicably higher.

Approached by the Observer, the company refused to comment. In a statement, Liz Madden, its head of sales and marketing, said: "As is the case with all major international sporting events, the Delhi organising committee has imposed very strict confidentiality clauses in the contracts. For this reason we are unable to discuss the terms of our agreement."

The organisers will only say that the four bids came in lowest over all. It therefore remains unclear how the company was able to convince organisers to pay £129 for each of the 480 liquid soap dispensers it supplied, despite the Swiss group Nüssli charging just £2.57 for comparable items for its three groups of venues. The soap dispensers alone earned ES £61,920.

The 77 pigeonhole cupboards it supplied cost £780 each compared with Nüssli's £251. Nine thousand disposable glasses were charged at 51p each, more than double its Swiss rival's price.

While many international sporting events are dogged by negative publicity and concerns about whether they will meet deadlines only to come good at the last minute, Delhi appears to be in serious danger of bucking the trend. Hopes of recouping up to £14m through merchandising were severely dented when the company awarded the contract pulled out, blaming delays in the launch and calling organisers unprofessional. The organisers hit back by claiming the quality of the merchandise had been poor.

Until Friday morning, the organising committee did not even have a caterer for its venues.

Even the new airport through which the crowds of visitors are expected to pass is struggling. Domestic flights, due to start next week, will not now commence until after the games are over, because of power and water shortages and the failure to complete the new approach road.

India was hoping that its tourist industry would get a shot in the arm from the games but it appears that many would-be visitors have decided to stay away, with guest houses reporting that a lack of bookings is forcing them to close and hotels reporting a marked shortfall in expected visitors.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh is taking personal charge of attempts to salvage the games and public pressure is now growing for guilty parties to be punished.

Leander & Co. game for CWG

India’s top tennis players, who had threatened to boycott the Commonwealth Games because of non-payment of dues, Saturday pledged to represent the country in the mega event after being given a categorical assurance that the vexed issues would be resolved soon.

On a day of swift developments, the revolting quartet of Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Dev Varman and Rohan Bopanna made themselves available to play for the country while the Sports Ministry and the AITA also promised to resolve the dispute as early as possible.

Dogs have their day at Nehru Stadium

More than 30 dogs and puppies have made the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here their home, causing a huge problem and embarrassment to the officials in charge of stadium facilities and venue operations for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

The authorities woke up to the dog menace when a foreign woman athlete came out screaming from a toilet during the Asian All-Star Athletics Meet at the stadium last month-end.

She was terrified when confronted by a dog. The dogs have resisted all attempts to evict them since then.

“They defecate on the track, in the corridors, on the indoor track and in the basement. We keep cleaning up and they come back and dirty the same spots all over again,” said an exasperated athletics official engaged in tying up the loose ends at the venue.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi had rounded up thousands of cattle and dogs in a special drive recently aimed at clearing the Games venues and surrounding areas of stray domestic animals. There were objections from NGOs to this drive because of the cruel manner in which the task was being handled.

Obviously the municipal squads have not reached the Nehru Stadium, where over 1,000 workers are still engaged in various activities connected with clearing and sprucing up of the venue apart from other work related to cables, drainage, construction of roads, boundary walls, etc. “The labourers provide food to the dogs and that's how they have continued to stay at the stadium,” said one official. “The dogs have had fresh litters too,” he added.

“The wall around the stadium is broken at several places now and a new wall is being erected. Obviously the dogs have easy access to the stadium,” said one Sports Authority of India official.

Commonwealth Express to reach capital on Wednesday

Exhibition on wheels showcases Commonwealth Games memorabilia
Exhibition open for public from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on August 25 and 26

The Commonwealth Express, a special exhibition train designed to promote the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, will reach here on August 25 on the Kerala leg of its nation-wide journey.

The train that was flagged off from Delhi on June 24 has 11 coaches – five of which feature rare Commonwealth Games memorabilia, and six of which are devoted to showcasing Information Technology.

VS to open show

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan is scheduled to inaugurate the travelling exhibition in Kerala at the Central Railway Station.

The train, which is coming from Madurai in Tamil Nadu, will halt here for two days before proceeding to Kollam on August 27 and to Ernakulam on August 28. The exhibition will be open for public on these dates from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. After August 28, the train will return to Delhi via Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The exhibition has been organised by the Department of Information Technology (DIT), Government of India, in association with its various arms and prominent IT/ITES companies to showcase the IT success story of the country. It will demonstrate the capability and the work done in the area of ICT (Information and Communications Technology), e-governance, infrastructure, and technology initiatives relevant to rural India and language interfacing technology. Kerala IT has stalls showcasing the ICT initiatives in the State. The exhibition features counters for Akshaya e-Pay to demonstrate the software used by FRIENDS citizen-service centres.

“By endorsing ICT through Commonwealth Express, Indian Railways has taken the initiative of spreading the essence of IT to the citizens who are not yet exposed to the opportunities generated by the sector. We are also leaving no stone unturned to ensure that Kerala's IT journey is highlighted through this exhibition,” Rathan Kelkar, Director, Kerala State Information Technology Mission (KSITM) told a press conference.

“Indian Railways' e-governance initiatives are commendable, like e-ticketing and Corporate Wide Information System (CWIS). It is a role model for other organisations in implementing e-governance successfully,” said Mervin Alexander, CEO, Technopark.

Joint effort

The Commonwealth Express programme in Kerala is being jointly coordinated by the Kerala State IT Mission, Technopark, Infopark, Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala, National Informatics Centre, Trivandrum; Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Keltron, Public Relations Department, Akshaya, District Collectorate, Kollam; Centre for Development of Imaging Technology and Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs.

The team together will coordinate the action plan comprising the inauguration, visits by schools to the exhibition, setting up of stalls to showcase IT initiatives of Kerala, counters for Akshaya e-Pay to demonstrate FRIENDS software and inviting sports celebrities to visit the train.

The Commonwealth Express is being run jointly by the Ministry of Railways through its Railway Sports Promotion Board and the Ministry of Communication & Information Technology.

M. Nanda Kumar, Director, Department of Information and Public Relations; Korath V. Mathew, Director, Akshaya; and Elizabeth Sherly, Director, Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management – Kerala, were present at the press conference.

On menu for Games: ‘World class' catering

“World class” catering will greet the athletes, officials and the work force during the Commonwealth Games here in October. The facilities would be in place by September 16 at the Games Village and the venues.

Announcing this on Saturday, Organising Committee (OC) Special Director-General Jiji Thompson said the “installation work is in progress” and will meet “international standards” befitting the event.

Mr. Thompson, who was associated with the 1987 National Games, expressed confidence about the OC “delivering” the desired facilities at the Village and the venues. The contract has been given to Delaware North Company Australia Pty Ltd and PKL London.

Mr. Thompson and OC Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Sanjeev Mittal took pains to explain the criteria employed in the selection of the caterers. “They are top class firms and have handled the catering at the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” said Mr. Mittal.

Initial bid scrapped

Explaining the bid process, Mr. Mittal noted, “We had to scrap the initial bid because the cost was coming to Rs. 800 per person. We thought it was not right to spend so much on food. We negotiated with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) but it did not understand our requirement. By the time IRCTC responded it was too late and their prices were not acceptable to us. The price is now coming to Rs. 450-750 per person (at lounges) and Rs. 120 per person (work force).” The work force consists of nearly 40,000 comprises officials, volunteers and security personnel.

“We have had to make certain adjustments because of the cost factor but there will be no compromise on quality and variety of food,” assured Mr. Thompson. The Games Village is equipped to cater to 3,600 people in three shifts while the dining area can accommodate 2,300 to 2,700 people at a time.

“The air-conditioned kitc-hen will be functional from September 16 and the main dining area will operate 24 hours. We will have six lounges at every venue and the Village Bar will be located in the international zone of the Village,” Mr. Mittal added.

9-hour English lessons for cops

Over 40,000 personnel of Delhi police are now 'English literate' and 'well mannered'. They have undergone behavioural and English speaking and writing training to ensure an international standard policing during the Commonwealth Games. Delhi Police Commissioner Y.S. Dadwal has spent lakhs of
rupees to ensure the Games have 'smart policemen'.

And the policemen have achieved this is a short span of time. Each policeman took just nine hours to learn English and three days to become 'well mannered'.

Dadwal sent them to IL&FS to become English-literate and to Amity Institute of Training and Development (AIT&D) for Police and Security Personnel to learn etiquette.

Rajan Bhagat, Delhi police spokesperson, said: "The police personnel, ranging from constables to inspectors, have undergone training so that they can police better during the Games. The policemen were taught how to communicate with foreigners in English and also trained to behave properly with foreign guests. The programmes groomed participants on basic skills of spoken English, communication and common courtesies."

However, many of the policemen who have undergone training are not happy.

A head constable of Delhi police said: "We were given some theoretical lessons in both the programmes. Behavioural training though had some worth, English classes were just useless. If one could learn English within a few hours, the number of English-literate people in India would not be so less."

"They taught us some terminology like 'first information report', 'complaint', 'arrest', 'theft', 'burglary' and 'detain'. They also taught us how to describe a person in English like 'he is tall', 'he is well built', 'man with dark complexion', 'he has sharp features', etc.," said a sub-inspector.

"We were expecting to learn something which we do not know. But most of us already knew what we were being taught. We were not illiterate."

Prashant K Dhyani, officer of IL&FS, who is in charge of the police training programme, said: "We have trained over 40,000 policemen in about 1,200 batches. The Delhi Police paid us Rs 10,000 for each batch."

Warm welcome for Queen's baton

The Queen's baton that arrived here ahead of the Commonwealth games to be held at New Delhi, received a warm welcome despite heavy rain on Saturday.

The relay run of the baton began at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Oppalam with Lieutenant Governor Iqbal Singh handing over the torch to Maheshwari, a weightlifter from Puducherry. Chief Minister V. Vaithilingam participated in the event.

The stadium was filled with hundreds of schoolchildren giving a rousing welcome to the baton, waving the national flag. This was followed by playing of the national anthem after which the relay began.

The baton was carried by a number of sportspersons from the region and officials of various government departments.

Earlier, the Commonwealth Express, a special train exhibiting details of the games to be held in October, reached the Puducherry railway station in the morning. Hundreds of children accompanied by their parents visited the exhibition. The train will leave the station on Sunday.