MPs' panel concerned over 'inadequate' security ahead of 2010 Games

NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of a Parliamentary panel finding serious lapses in preparations for Commonwealth Games, another committee on Thursday observed that security to people in Delhi appeared to be "inadequate'' ahead of the 2010 event. It suggested that the government should take urgent measures after a comprehensive review.

The Standing Committee on Home Affairs in its report said the actual security cover to the people of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) ahead of the Games "appears to be inadequate, particularly in the light of the recent serial bomb blasts and more recently the Mumbai terror attacks.''

Recommending that the home ministry undertake a "comprehensive review'' of the security capability of the Delhi Police, the panel, headed by BJP member Sushma Swaraj, said: "The committee also desires that the Metro stations in Delhi need to be provided full security and no stone should be left unturned.''

In its action taken report, the home ministry, however, informed that the government has already sanctioned 5,000 additional posts in the Delhi Police specifically in the context of the Commonwealth Games. Also, an additional 7,612 posts have been sanctioned in terms of a larger proposal of the Delhi Police.

It also said that it was decided to hand over the security of Delhi Metro to CISF and 1,633 posts were sanctioned to the paramilitary force for the purpose.

The panel also referred to the issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, saying that "a large presence of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants poses a grave threat to the internal security'' and should be viewed seriously.

Noting that "any laxity'' on the Indo-Bangladesh border would prove detrimental to India's security and economic progress, the panel suggested strengthening of surveillance.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/MPs-panel-concerned-over-inadequate-security-ahead-of-2010-Games/articleshow/4197550.cms

Delhi gets Rs 2360 crore in budget ahead of 2010 Commonwealth Games

NEW DELHI: As the national capital gears up to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi has been allocated a whopping Rs 2360 crore, an increase of Rs 1600 crore compared to last year, in the interim Union Budget for 2009-10.

The National Capital Territory of Delhi has been given Rs 1000 crore for the Commonwealth Games infrastructure, compared to Rs 400 crore given during 2008-09.

Expenditures on Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission schemes have also recorded a sharp jump from Rs 108.36 crore in the revised estimate for 2008-09 to Rs 1045.01 crore in 2009-10.

Focus in the budget has been given on development of urban infrastructure which was allocated Rs 478.52 crore compared to Rs 50 crore last time.

Besides, integrated housing and slum development has been given Rs 93.12 crore compared to nil in 2008-09.

The Centre provided assistance to the NCT of Delhi for programmes that provide nutrition to adolescent girls, e-governance and Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojana.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Budget-package-for-Cwealth-Games/articleshow/4137613.cms

PCB top brass to visit Delhi to discuss 2011 WC preparation

Karachi, Feb 9 (PTI) The Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board will attend a emergency meeting of the 2011 World Cup Central Organising Committee in New Delhi on February 19 to discuss some crucial issues related to the ICC events.

PCB CEO Saleem Altaf confirmed a four-member delegation of the cricket board, including the new Managing Director of the World Cup secretariat in Lahore, would be going to Delhi for the meeting on the invitation of ICC Vice President Sharad Pawar who heads the organising committee.

He said matters related to the World Cup would be discussed at the meeting but sources in the board said this year's Champions Trophy would also come under discussion.

The ICC recently relocated the Champions Trophy from Pakistan due to some teams expressing reservations over playing in Pakistan because of security reasons.

The ICC is due to decide on a new venue for the tournament in April.

"Apparently India is keen that the eight-nation tournament remain in Asia and that is why this emergent meeting has been called from the World Cup platform," one source told PTI.

Source: PTI

2010 Commonwealth Games

The 2010 Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held in Delhi, India between 3 October and 14 October 2010. With a population of over 15 million, Delhi is one of the largest cities in the world. This will be the largest multi-sport event conducted to date in Delhi and India generally, which has previously hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi.

This is the first time the Commonwealth Games will be held in India, which will be the third developing country to host the event (after Jamaica in 1966 and Malaysia in 1998). This is the second time the event has been held in Asia (after 1998).

In January 2005, the Commonwealth Games Federation vice-president Raja Randhir Singh expressed concern that Delhi was behind schedule in forming an organising committee. On 18 January 2008, however, the Commonwealth Games Federation expressed its approval of Delhi's progress.

In addition to the Commonwealth Games, the city of Pune, India hosted the 3rd Commonwealth Youth Games between October 12 and 18, 2008. The Youth Games offered nine sports: athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

In Montego Bay, Jamaica on 13 November 2003, the Commonwealth Games Federation voted on the location of the 2010 Games. In a 46 to 22 vote by the CGF General Assembly, Delhi defeated the Canadian city of Hamilton and won the right to host the 2010 Games. India's Sports Minister will head the apex committee for conducting the games while the Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi will head the organising committee. The Games will be held from the 3rd to 14 October 2010.

The logo for the 2010 Commonwealth Games was revealed on 6 January 2008 at an event taking place at the India Gate. The logo is inspired by the Ashoka Chakra, a symbol of freedom, unity, and power. Its spiraling upwards symbolizes India's rise as a global power and its transition from tradition to modernity. The colours symbolize India's vibrant and diverse culture and people, and each part of the logo symbolizes India welcoming the 71 Commonwealth nations and territories

Commonwealth Game 2010 a Historical Event

Commonwealth is an organization of independent sovereign states with different faiths, cultures, races, languages and traditions in the world. The Commonwealth Games is a sports event which is held once every four years. It is managed by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). The Commonwealth India 2010 or Commonwealth Games 2010 will be held in New Delhi.

About 14 million people will be hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2010. India will host Commonwealth Game for the first time. And Asia will host this event for the second time after the Commonwealth Game 1998 in Kuala Lumpur. Delhi became the host for the Commonwealth 2010 Games by defeating the Canadian city of Hamilton by 46 votes. This voting was done at CGF General Assembly in Montego Bay in November 2003.

Delhi, the capital city of India, is rich in history and culture. Located on the western end of the Gangetic Plain, this state is bordered by Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The old district of the state popularly known as Old Delhi was the capital of Muslim India during the 18th century.

Many mosques and historic sites were built in this part of Delhi during the reign of the Muslim rulers. Later on, museums to commemorate their victories were built here. New Delhi was created by the British Raj. The majestic government buildings and tree lined avenues are worth visiting.

In order to attend the Commonwealth India 2010, you will have to be at Delhi from 3 - 14 October 2010 and witness the special event, right from the Opening to the Closing Ceremonies. October is a favorable time to visit Delhi as the temperature ranges from minimum 17.2 degrees centigrade to maximum 31.3 degrees centigrade. Humidity during this time of the year ranges from 31 to 78% for the October and November months.

The Commonwealth Game 2010 will be held in the Delhi Games Village, located at the city center. It will be constructed as a low rise medium development on a 40 acre site and can accommodate 8,500 athletes and officials. Both the existing and new stadium will serve as the venue for a range of sports like:


Archery
Aquatics
Athletics
Badminton
Boxing
Cycling
Gymnastics
Hockey
Lawn Bowls
Netball
Rugby 7s
Shooting
Squash
Table Tennis
Tennis
Weightlifting
Wrestling

Apart from this, there will be 15 special events for the elite disabled athletes which will be contested across 4 Para-Sports like Athletics, Swimming, Power lifting and Table Tennis.

Tips for Visitors for Delhi Commonwealth Games

If you are planning to come to the city of Delhi in India during 2010 commonwealth games, then it is important to know the facilities of the local transportation available in Delhi. Majority of the people in Delhi use local transport facilities to commute from one place to another. The availability of different modes and means of transportation system has added to their convenience of traveling.

Some of the common modes of transport which are mostly used in the city range from taxis and buses to the trains.

Transport in Delhi
Taxis
For the visitors to the Delhi commonwealth games, taxis would serve as a convenient transport. Most of the taxis in Delhi are run by the tourism ministry of India. There are private operators too. You can avail taxis for traveling to the local sites as well as for long distances. To hire a taxi, you need to access the taxi stand or seek the help of the taxi service provider by telephone. Just remember that taxi journey proves little expensive.

Buses (DTC)
Bus services can be availed at cheap rates. Boasting one of the biggest bus networking systems in India, Delhi provides you an access to more than 2000 public buses. Some of the buses are run by private operators and some of them are operated by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).

The city has also introduced CNG buses. These are environmental friendly.

RTVs or Rural Transport Vehicles
You can also avail the services of the rural transport vehicles. But these ply on fewer routes only.

Auto Rickshaws
Costly than buses and cheaper to taxis, the auto rickshaw services are easily available. However, you need to be little careful while going for this service. Many auto drivers do not agree to follow meters. If this happens, you are recommended to bargain a little for fare in advance.

Metro Train
This is a newly developed transport mode of the city. Started out in 2002, the metro train service has already become popular with the locals and has been acclaimed as one of the topnotch rapid transit systems in Asia. The traveling fares are moderate. This service enables you to travel across about 59 stations of the city.

For your convenience, route maps and rate charts have been made available at the Metro Stations.

Local Trains
Known to be the cheapest transport mode in Delhi, the local trains are best to avail to save travel time. Some of the major railway stations in Delhi are Old Delhi, New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Shahdara, Shakur Basti, Okhla, Pragati Maidan and Tilak Bridge.

Apart from transport, the other travel tips for visitors traveling to Delhi for Commonwealth games comprise money exchange facility and sightseeing spots that are worth visiting.

Money Exchange facility in Delhi
Numerous money exchange kiosks are found in Delhi. However, it is always better to avail services of the kiosks which are run by government.

The exchange rates would differ from one kiosk to another. So do opt for bargaining. You will find these kiosks near railway stations and airports. Besides, several hotels of different categories also provide in-house money exchange facilities.

Tourist Attractions in Delhi
An experience of traveling during Delhi commonwealth will become exciting and memorable, if you can take some time out to explore the popular sightseeing spots of the city. Some of the noted hot spots in Delhi are the India Gate, the Qutab Minar, the Red Fort, the Raj Ghat and the Lotus Temple or the Baha'i Temple.

Work on schedule, stadia would be ready before 2010 CWG: Govt

New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) The government today allayed fears that much of the construction work for the Commonwealth Games is running behind schedule and assured stadia and other infrastructure would be ready in time for the 2010 sporting extravaganza in the capital.

"The work on the major stadia being constructed for Commonwealth Games, 2010 namely Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, National Stadium, Dr S P Mukherjee Swimming Complex, Thyagraj Stadium, Sri Fort Stadium, Yamuna Sports Complex and R K Khanna Tennis Stadium is progressing as per schedule," the government said in a statement.

"The targetted date for completion of these civil and electrical works is December 31, 2009 while targetted date for completion of the Games Village and the Cycling Vellodrome is March 31, 2010. The civil and electrical work of Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges will be completed by October, this year," the statement said.

Deadlines have been set up for each venue and work progressed would be monitored on a web-based Monitoring System developed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, it said.

The Sports Ministry said work on the venues are being done in a phased manner to prevent facilities getting worn out by the time the Games kicks off.

PTI