DDA to provide 5,000 houses for Games tourists

New Delhi In a bid to meet the current shortage of accommodation in the Capital for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Inter-Ministerial Group has given a go-ahead to the Delhi Development Authority’s proposal of providing 5,000 houses to the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). According to the plan, these 5,000 houses will be furnished by the ITDC and then used to accommodate foreign tourists in the Capital for the 2010 Games. Thereafter, the DDA will sell these houses through its usual lottery scheme.

Sources in the DDA have said that while they are yet to get an official directive from the Ministry of Urban Development, they are aware of the proposal and are equipped to meet the demand. “We currently have 14,000 houses under construction in Delhi and will definitely be able to hand over 5,000 houses to the ITDC in time for them to furnish them before the Games. Almost 2,500 of these houses are in Vasant Kunj,” a senior DDA official said.

With a shortage of almost 30,000 hotel rooms in the Capital, meeting the huge gap in accommodation has been a major concern for the government. The DDA as of now does not expect that the cost of these houses will go up significantly after they are spruced up by the ITDC. The DDA is expected to hand over these flats by March 9 this year, which the ITDC will hand back after the Games. source: http://www.expressindia.com/

Commonwealth Games expenses to overshoot budget

Expenses for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India will overshoot the budgeted costs, the head of the organizing body said Tuesday.

Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the organizing committee and president of the Indian Olympic Association, said the budget for the multidiscipline event will increase due to the rising cost of construction.

"The games budget will increase considering the escalating prices of raw material used in construction," Press Trust of India quoted Kalmadi as saying after an inspection visit of the stadium that will stage athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies.

"We're building an international standard stadium here and we won't compromise on that," Kalmadi said. "The prices of steel and cement are high and we're taking that into consideration."

Two months ago, during an appraisal survey of the venues, the Commonwealth Games Federation said it was concerned over the slow pace of work, but Kalmadi said the construction and upgrading of venues would be completed in the next 12 months.

"We're on target and 30 percent of the work has been completed," Kalmadi said. "Most of the infrastructure will be ready by December and the test events will start in March next year."

The 2010 Commonwealth Games are scheduled for Oct. 3-14.

New Delhi was chosen to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games after several previous failed bids, becoming only the second Asian city to be allocated the event that features athletes from the former British Empire.

Source: http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=830983&lang=eng_news

I want to see myself in India colours again: Jugraj

KOLKATA: More than five years after a road accident brought his flying career to a standstill, drag-flick specialist Jugraj Singh still battles it out to see himself back in the Indian jersey and is miffed for being part of the system which has lapses.

Once a posterboy of Indian hockey for his superb skills, Jugraj, who is representing Punjab Police in the Beighton Cup here, lamented at the state of affairs of Indian hockey and said the first requirement is to have a federation in place.

Lambasting the present Indian hockey set up -- an ad-hoc committee, which looks after the federation which was disbanded by IOA last year -- Jugraj said, "There are few lapses in the federation. Things cannot be smooth till we have a federation in place. It was very embarassing to see India not figure in Olympics..."

He claimed he was part of the system as he failed to get back his place despite recovering well from the injury.

He made a comeback for India for the Germany tour in 2006 before being left on the sidelines.

But he said the team must do well in the present and aim for a better show in future.

"We must not look into the past but should do well in the present and hope for a better show in 2010. There will be Commonwealth Games and World Cup lined up in 2010, I am sure if we do well the glorious days will be back."

He stressed on the importance of developing coaching facility in India.

Giving his example, he said he was never taught drag flicking.

"I started drag flicking, seeing from TV. Nobody taught me this. The federation should look after the players, give enough coaching and infrastructure facility so as to see the sport come back to its glorious days," he added.

He however has not stopped dreaming about making a comeback.

"I am doing very well now. I am playing all matches and can play the full 70 minutes on the field that shows that I've fully recovered. One day I would like to see Indian jersey on my body again," he signed off.

"First I was called to be prepared. So I waited for six months, however there was no call-up and suddenly, one day I was called to appear before the trials which was not fair. Certainly, there are few lapses in the selection procedure," he claimed.

Considered as one of the best in penalty-corner conversion, Jugraj met with the accident in September 2003 which nearly ended his brilliant career as he was out of action for 14 months.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/I_want_to_see_myself_in_India_colours_again_Jugraj/articleshow/3953336.cms

No money for women hockey players, coaches

BANGALORE: Women's hockey in India is never short on controversies. The latest to rack the game is the irregular flow of graded payments to the national pool of players and coaches that began with the entry of a sponsor three years ago.

It's been nearly a year since the players and coaches received their cheques from City Limouzines, the sponsor roped in by the Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF) in 2006, sources told TOI.

Payments were regular in the first few months but shrunk to a trickle by mid-2007 before the last of the cheques were handed over in February 2008, the sources said.

According to the IWHF grid laid out in 2006, players were bracketed in the Rs 10,000, Rs 8,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 categories while the coaches were given Rs 15,000 (national coach), Rs 12,000 (chief coach, juniors) and Rs 5,000.

There were obvious difficulties in grading players every month, particularly with the frequent entries and exits in the team but sources alleged that the IWHF contributed to the situation by being rather slack in its approach.

City Limouzines officials corroborated the view stating that there were many months of inactivity when frequent reminders from the sponsor to the federation went unheard.

"We told them on many occasions to send the list of players to us so that we could clear the payments. We are committed to paying stipend to players and coaches and there has never been any delay from our end," a City Limouzines official told TOI. The official said the cheques were always drawn against the names of the players. "This way, we ensured the recipients got the money promptly. There are many players with limited sources of income. We didn't want any complaints from anyone."

According to the official, the sponsor was only playing it safe, particularly after it found that the IWHF had not allegedly kept its word on two other issues. One was the publicity and advertisement which the federation had said the sponsor would get in major tournaments.

"Out of a total amount of Rs 1.05 crore to be handed over annually to the IWHF until the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Rs 50 lakh had to go to the players and the other half was to be given to the IWHF for publicity. But we weren't happy with the results or the visibility that we got. So we decided that we wouldn't pay them the other Rs 50 lakh," the official said.

The remaining Rs 5 lakh, reserved for team jerseys and kitting, too hasn't been spent in a deserving fashion in the past, the official alleged.

The IWHF denied it had defaulted on the payments but admitted there had been a delay. "There are difficulties in getting things done on time because we are functioning without an office," a federation official told TOI. "We have to prepare lists of players for every month and that requires time."

The official insisted the players would be paid once they reach Delhi in the next few days en route to their respective international tours.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hockey/News/No_money_for_women_hockey_players_coaches/articleshow/3953854.cms

DDA may provide 5,000 flats to house C'wealth visitors

NEW DELHI: As the city gears up to host Commonwealth Games-2010, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is likely to provide around 5,000 apartments to meet the huge accommodation shortage, a major concern ahead of the mega event.

Racing against time, an inter-ministerial group set up to expedite preparations for the Games is learnt to have okayed the proposal to ask DDA to meet the accommodation shortage by handing over around 5,000 flats to India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) before the event.

The proposal will help government bridge the gap in hotel accommodation but DDA officials feel the prices of these flats after the ITDC makeover may become too high for the general populace.

TOI had earlier reported that the ministerial panel, headed by urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy, was considering the option of roping in DDA to meet the accommodation deficit.

The ministerial panel, with tourism minister Ambika Soni and S&T minister Kapil Sibal as members, has met several times to review progress of ongoing works being executed by various agencies. The panel's main concern, however, is the shortage of hotel accommodation for foreign and domestic visitors during the sporting extravaganza.

The government expects 1.5 lakh visitors during the Games as 71 countries are scheduled to take part in the event to be held from October 3-14, 2010.

Sports minister M S Gill had also voiced concern that the target of creating an additional 30,000 hotel rooms might not be achieved.

Tourism ministry sources said officials from the ministry and DDA had held several rounds of consultations to finalise modalities for handing over the flats, mostly in Vasant Kunj, to ITDC by March 2009.

A tourism ministry official said that though details were yet to be worked out, ITDC would spruce up the flats after taking possession from DDA to make them more attractive for foreign visitors.

Sources said the flats would be handed back to DDA after the Games and the development agency would be free to auction them to the public.

However, DDA officials said that after the ITDC makeover, prices of the flats would escalate many times over.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/DDA_may_provide_5000_flats_to_house_Cwealth_visitors/articleshow/3953261.cms