31,000 on Facebook path to smooth roads in Delhi

'Dear Sir/Madam, Today I have seen lot many defence cars, with blue and red beacon lights, judges' cars (with justice label at the back) driving in Commonwealth Games lane,' says a Facebook post received by Delhi Traffic Police, nicknamed DTP by netizens.

The mail writer goes on to say: "I don't see any reason (why a) person who is returning from office like us is using the emergency service lane."

The Delhi traffic police Facebook group, within a month of its launch in May, grew to 3,000. Thousands more joined it in subsequent months. By Aug 1, the number reached 17,000. And the figure now stands at 31,000.

"Big jam on NH-8 towards Delhi, especially Mahipalpur red light turn is jampacked..." informs another netizen, Jasdeep Singh.

"Thanks, staff has already been directed to the spot," respond traffic police.

And it is not always the public which airs its views on the traffic police page; the flow of messages from law keepers is also significant. The networking site is also serving as a broadcasting medium for police.

On Tuesday, Ajay Chadha, special commissioner of police (traffic), thanked the public for adhering to the lane regulations imposed on Delhi roads in view of Commonwealth Games-related traffic, with the mega event taking place during Oct 3-14.

The "experience will encourage us to follow the lane driving system after the Games too", he wrote on the Facebook page.

Police officials said the traffic police account on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are growing in popularity by the day and are allowing aggrieved Delhi motorists to air their woes and forward suggestions for better traffic management.

The reply they receive may not always be to their satisfaction but the gratification of reporting a traffic offence is enough for those concerned about their city, said a police official.

The news of Delhi Traffic Police, a law enforcement agency considered by many as frozen in time, going hi-tech and people-friendly by opening Facebook and Twitter accounts pleasantly surprised Delhiites, who now seem to be making the most of the opportunity to reach out to the police.

"It (Facebook and Twitter account) was launched in May by Delhi Traffic Police to electronically connect
with the public, share information and bring about awareness," said Ankit Varshney, a software engineer who follows the social networking sites of traffic police.

"And going by their growing followers, one may deduce that they've been largely successful," he said.

The Commonwealth Games have been one major reason for traffic police to launch its microblogging electronic venture.

On the introductory page, the traffic police says: "Managing traffic in Delhi during the Commonwealth Games will be a big challenge as well as a great opportunity. Delhi Traffic Police cannot possibly succeed without the active cooperation, participation and support of all the citizens."

The home page of traffic police also carries information related to road cave-ins and traffic jams, but, most strikingly, pictures of traffic law offenders.

Shailendra Sharma, an enthusiastic follower of the Facebook group, said: "They listen to the woes of the people and reply instantly and it has become a symbiotic relationship between the law-abiding citizens and the law enforcers."

A feature of the page that has become quite famous over time is the photographs of the traffic law offenders taken by road users. Photographic evidence provides the circumstances of the offence and clear details about the offender, thereby ensuring a quick reaction by police.

"But people can try and use this opportunity to implicate an innocent citizen, or someone against whom they hold a grudge, which can cause unnecessary hassles to that person," points out Ashish Jain, a Facebook user.

Traffic police officials said they don't take evidence, like a photograph, at face value.

Many police departments around the world are similarly trying to connect with the local population through social networking websites.

"Missing car numbers, pictures of wanted criminals can be shared with the public and they can be made part of investigations without them having to reveal their identity," said a police official.

"In the coming days of the Commonwealth Games, more and more people will join the group to remain updated with the latest news and to help traffic police in maintenance of Delhi's roads," hoped Sharma.

Qureshi is 'most welcome' during Games: Krishna

Their talks in New York might not have materialised, but External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has invited his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi to visit India to witness the Commonwealth Games.

Krishna said the Pakistani minister was "most welcome" during the Games that are about to take off in New Delhi.

"Foreign Minister Qureshi is most welcome to come to witness some of the games, it gives us a chance to continue the dialogue," he said.

Delhi is hosting the Games from October 3 to October 14, and the Pakistani sports delegation has already arrived in the capital.

Krishna and Qureshi were both in New York for over a week to attend the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly and a bilateral meeting was widely anticipated.

The meeting, however, did not take place, apparently because India was put off by Qureshi raising the Kashmir issue at several forums there, including the United Nations.

Krishna, finally, told journalists yesterday that a bilateral with Qureshi is not on the cards.

Qureshi, on his part, hinted that it appeared India had changed its mind on the meeting after initially showing interest.

Despite talks in New York not working out, both ministers have also expressed optimism about Qureshi's visit to New Delhi for another round of bilateral talks, which will pick up the threads from Krishna's last visit to Islamabad.

The dates for the next round of talks have not yet been decided.

"I have said in my speech that I have invited Foreign Minister Qureshi to come to India and he has very graciously accepted my invitation," Krishna said.

"I am looking forward to his visit to India so that we can take up from where he left in Islamabad," Krishna said earlier.

South Africa's world champion Caster Semenya pulls out of Commonwealth Games with a back injury

Caster Semenya, the women's 800m world champion, has withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games because of a back injury dealing the event another blow.

The 19-year-old, cleared to compete again in July after controversial gender tests had put her career on hold since she won the world title in August 2009, has suffered serious lower back pain and been uncomfortable in her last few races.

Semenya had an MRI scan earlier on Tuesday which showed an inflammation of the spine and left the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) with no alternative but to pull the medal prospect out of their team.

'It would serve no purpose to have an athlete in Delhi who was struggling with any sort of injury that would compromise performance and it is our medical view that physically and emotionally she would not be capable of doing justice to her talent at an event of this magnitude,' Shuaib Manjra, Team South Africa's chief medical officer said in a statement.

Sascoc chief executive Tubby Reddy said Semenya's withdrawal was a blow to South Africa's medal hopes at the games but the welfare of the athlete was his organisation's main concern.

'She was one of our athletes that was expected to do well and win a medal,' Reddy said. 'But if she is carrying an injury it would do her no good to try and compete in Delhi because it could impact on her future achievements. We have thus decided to follow our medical team's advice and withdraw her from the team.'

Other high-profile athletes missing from the Games include world champion sprinter Usain Bolt, who said the event had come too late in the year, and Kenyan 800m world record holder David Rudisha, who blamed tiredness for his withdrawal.

The absence of some of the world's top athletes has taken a lot of the shine off an event India had hoped to use to display its growing global influence, rivalling China which put on a spectacular Olympic Games in Beijing two years ago.

Other athletes have pulled out citing health concerns surrounding dirty accommodation in the athletes' village while some have withdrawn becuase of fears over security.

Commonwealth Games CEO under fire for 'lavish' lifestyle

The Kiwi head of the Commonwealth Games Federation has been accused of living it up royally in India, even as the Games preparations were floundering.
Michael Hooper's come under fire from the Times of India for lavish accommodation and tax arrangements.

The newspaper's obtained documents showing taxpayers have been covering the rental cost of his farmhouse for the past few years, and six staff.

The Delhi Organising Committee's also paid the equivalent of more than NZ $600,000 to take care of Hooper's income tax liabilities.

Hooper isn't the only one in the firing line.

Suresh Kalmadi, chief of India's Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, has also been the recipient of backlash.

Kalmadi spent more than a year assuring backers and critics that India could produce a spectacle to rival the 2008 Beijing Olympics, despite the problem-plagued preparations that have included corruption allegations and concerns over the quality of construction amid the scramble to finish before the Oct. 4-15 event.

The Indian government started to reduce Kalmadi's power last month after an audit body identified concerns over tender procedures and inflated costs.

"I am ready to face a judicial inquiry. Hang me if I am found guilty," Kalmadi said in an interview replayed repeatedly yesterday with Indian news channel CNN-IBN.

"But when the games are over, I should get the credit also."

Meanwhile New Zealand Olympic Committee president Mike Stanley says signs are good that the Commonwealth Games will be a success.

Mr Stanley, who made a whirlwind visit to the Indian capital last week after New Zealand team chef de mission Dave Currie raised serious concerns over the city's readiness to host the games, said conditions had improved overall to the point he felt the games were poised to be a success.

"The response of the Indian government has been very encouraging," Mr Stanley told NZPA.

"A lot of work has been done in the games village. Some towers are yet to be completed but there's been a lot of progress inside the village and its environs.

"We have also received confirmation the training venues are available and secure.

The first wave of New Zealand athletes, including the bowls team, wrestlers, badminton players and archers, had arrived and begun settling in amidst raised security.

"The organisers are working through teething problems with the transport system but the accompanying security seems to be place.

"Security was significant when I was there last week but has been boosted and is very visible this week. The New Delhi police seem to be doing a thorough and diligent job."

Mr Stanley backed Mr Currie's decision to lock New Zealand athletes within a "games bubble".

Athletes will be restricted to 'security bubble'

They won't be allowed outside the areas given the heaviest security allocation - the athletes' village, the venues and the transport to and from them.

"It is very appropriate. We have taken a cautious approach and that (policy) may remain for the whole games," Mr Stanley said.

The international zone at the games village would serve to allow athletes to meet family and friends during the event.

He said he could assure families of the athletes that security around the athletes was of a very high standard.

"The New Delhi police are very experienced around this sort of security deployment and we have confidence they can do the job for our athletes.

"Food at the village is very good. The standard of catering is first class."

As for the threat of mosquito-borne disease such as dengue fever, Mr Stanley said not many of the insects had been observed in the New Zealand accommodation but action continued to be taken by the organisers to minimise the risk.

"Our health team is confident any risk can be mitigated by those measures."

He said the Commonwealth Games Federation had been working with the organisers to see appropriate standards were achieved before the opening of the games.

"Everyone is focused on getting everything ready for the opening ceremony.

"Once the games get going, we get these things behind us and providing . . . all the problem-solving is done as things go along, they should turn out to be a very enjoyable and rewarding games for our team."

Delhi clean-up deadline lapses yet again

THE deadline to bring Delhi's troubled athletes' village up to standard was put back yet again yesterday amid fears that work will not be completed in time for the beginning of the Commonwealth Games.

Despite assurances that frantic repair and maintenance work would be completed by today, organisers have been forced to roll back the completion date to Friday, just two days before the opening ceremony.

It comes as Scotland's team attempt to make do with the standard of their accommodation, amid new reports highlighting a series of outstanding faults in their living quarters.

The embattled Games suffered a further publicity blow yesterday after it emerged that fewer than one out of every eight tickets that have gone on sale for the various events have been sold.

As hundreds of athletes from around the world arrived in the Indian capital yesterday, work was still going on in the athletes' village, where for the past week, concerns have been raised about hygiene and infrastructure issues.

An army of about 4,000 labourers has been working around the clock to ready the site, which was due to be finished last week.

Delhi's chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, admitted that a revised deadline of this evening would not be met, but said she was "confident" the Games would begin on time.

"It will take another two (to] three days. We will be up and ready," she said.

"I went to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and everything is going on fine. Additional workers from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi have been roped in at the stadium."

Athletes from Team Scotland continued with their training sessions yesterday, as new images emerged of problems with their accommodation, including balconies with no railings, and loose electrical wiring in ceiling lights.

Photos taken of their living quarters also revealed leaking air conditioning units and unfinished kitchens, and missing railings in internal balcony areas.

Some bathrooms were also found to have broken windows, which have since been replaced.

However, the team said the focus of its attention was on the upcoming events. A spokeswoman for the group said: "Our athletes are happy and focused on the competition.

"Other countries still have some issues with their arrangements and we are working with the organisers to get it sorted out."

Caroline Brownlie, an Edinburgh-born shooter, said of her accommodation: "It's much better than I expected.

The team who came out before us have done a great job."

The last party of Scottish athletes is due to arrive in Delhi today Originally due to fly out last Thursday, the party of 41 athletes and officials from the rugby 7s, boxing and wrestling teams left Glasgow Airport yesterday afternoon.

Some 850 athletes from around the world arrived in the Indian capital yesterday, including members of the New Zealand, South African and Australian teams.

Meanwhile, tourism minister Kumari Selja admitted that of the 1.7 million tickets available for spectators at the Games, only 200,000 had been sold.

In the week before the beginning of the Melbourne Games four years ago, 1.3 million tickets had been sold.

Ms Selja accepted that the recent negative publicity had contributed to the poor take-up, and hoped more tickets would be sold once the Games began.

Chidambaram takes stock of security arrangements for Games

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram dropped in at the Delhi Police headquarters here on Tuesday to take stock of the security arrangements for the Commonwealth Games scheduled to kick off on October 3.

During the two-hour-long meeting attended by Police Commissioner Y.S. Dadwal and the venue commanders, it is learnt that the Home Minister sought from them information about the day's developments on the security front at all the Games-related venues. Mr. Chidambaram also directed the officers concerned to keep him abreast with issues that still remain unresolved.

Earlier on Tuesday morning, the Police Commissioner had attended a meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister to review the situation. “Mr. Chidambaram has been closely monitoring the developments on the ground. He has been holding at least two meetings every day to take stock of various security-related aspects of the Games,” said an official.

Among the crucial problems still being faced by the police is the uploading of data on accredited persons and radio-frequency identification (allotted to the authorised vehicles) onto the central server for the electronic identity authentication of all those entering the secured premises. The police have been verifying the cards manually so far.

According to sources, it is learnt that records of thousands of accreditations have been forwarded by the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee to the Electronics Corporation of India since Monday to be uploaded. However, a large part of the furnished data has been found to be incomplete in many aspects and even improperly presented, defeating the purpose. For instance, in several cases exact names of the accredited persons had not been given. “Since the identity cards would be verified electronically through scanners, essential particulars of the cards must match with the relevant data stored in the system. Any discrepancy would lead to rejection of the cards, causing inconvenience to the card holders,” said a source.

The issue was taken up on Monday during a meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai that was attended by officials of the Department of Telecommunications, ECIL and the Delhi Police.

However, till Tuesday evening the issue was yet to be resolved completely to the satisfaction of the Union Home Minister . A police team was reportedly sent to the Organising Committee office at Jantar Mantar to collect the data late on Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, over 60,000 nanotechnology-based non-cloneable I-cards have so far been distributed among Delhi Police officers and personnel.

More lanes dedicated to Games traffic

As the Commonwealth Games draw nearer and more lanes dedicated for Games-related traffic become operational, the number of people being issued challans also showed an increase with 172 people booked on Tuesday.

“We issued 149 challans and served 23 notices today. There were 65 violations reported from the Southern range and 64 from Central Delhi,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyendra Garg.

He agreed that there was more congestion and prosecution because two more routes -- from the Games Village to Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium and Indira Gandhi Sports Complex -- were also opened for Games-related traffic.

He said Games lanes leading to Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, Thyagaraj Sports Complex, R. K. Khanna Tennis Complex and Siri Fort Sports Complex would be opened for some time on Wednesday in addition to existing restrictions.

The restrictions imposed on entry and parking of vehicles around Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium from Tuesday also went off well, according to Mr. Garg. Commuters unaware of the new restrictions were seen being guided by traffic police personnel deployed around the stadium. No buses or heavy vehicles were allowed to enter Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium road.

Meanwhile, the State Transport Department also issued a notification regarding commercial vehicles in and around Delhi from September 30 to October 15. It prohibits the entry, plying and idle parking of heavy, medium and light goods vehicles from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on 84 roads including NH-8, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Aurobindo Marg, Nelson Mandela Marg, Aruna Asaf Ali Road, Thimmaiah Marg, Shankar Road, DBG Road, Rani Jhansi Road.

It also imposed peak hour and 24-hour restrictions on entry, plying and idle parking of HGVs, MGVs on certain roads.

Delhi Traffic Police will launch a volunteer programme for Commonwealth Games on Wednesday wherein Delhiites would be allowed to assist traffic policemen in different parts of the city. These volunteers would be handed over their kits and begin working along with the traffic police from Thursday, said Mr. Garg.

The volunteers would not have the power to prosecute offenders, but would assist traffic policemen stationed at various places in the city.