Delhi airport amongst top 100 infrastructure projects: KPMG

Three ongoing Indian infrastructure projects have made it to KPMG's Infrastructure 100 Report. The report includes 100 most exciting infrastructure projects from around the world, as selected by independent judging panels due to their scale, complexity, innovation and impact on society. The report has been brought by KPMG's Global Infrastructure practice, in conjunction with Infrastructure Journal.

Projects in the developing world - said a statement - were favoured by the judging panel largely due to their socioeconomic impact.

Amongst Indian projects that made it to the list include Delhi Airport which is world's 6th largest airport, Reliance's KG-6 Gas basin development and one Ultra Mega Power Project.

The role of an international sporting event as the catalyst for big-ticket investments in airports was undeniably the driver for the New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport expansion which was to be made ready in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India. This airport was taken over by the GMR-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) team. It is being upgraded and modernised while still functioning, then operated under a 30-year concession. Not only this mega project delivered a world-class facility, it has been completed in record time. Focus of developing nations such as India on reducing Carbon footprint is also commendable. The Delhi Indira Gandhi International airport can now boast of about 1 million planted trees.

For similar reasons India's KG-D6 development became a clear candidate worthy of particular note for its impact on the fast developing South Asian economy. The project, and accompanying East-West Pipeline, will provide India with 50 per cent of its current gas consumption and will transform the consumption pattern of various carbon fuels.

The 4,000MW Mundra plant also made it to top 100 list.

Commonwealth Games infrastructure ready

Suresh Kalmadi, the Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, on Friday said the infrastructure for the Games is complete.

Addressing media persons on the occasion of the setting up of the first venue operational team here, Kalmadi: "Finally, everything is falling into place; there are challenges now; the infrastructure part is over.

The airport has happened, the metro has happened, now the flyovers and roads and all things are going on, that will happen and then finally the Games.

Upto the time of the Games, most of the work is Organising Committee's work, so have to be on our toes and make sure everything goes off well".

He said that Commonwealth Games Federation chief Michael Fennell had initially shown apprehension over the completion of the inaugural venue, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, butwas now satisfied with the progress made.

"Mr. Fennell had come who had doubts about it, but he has come back and said that it is 'A-One'. There were two venues, which were lacking behind, one was Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and one was the swimming one, Talkatora Swimming Pool. That's also okay now. We are having our test events now in both these places," he added.

He said the Commonwealth Games would be the best and comparable to international standards.

"Every venue is better than the other. Whether it is the Games Village, it's one of the best games villages. It is better even than the Beijing games village. So, everything is now world class," he said.

Test events have given Indian players a chance to train under foreign expertise, and therefore, they are expecting ample medals for the country this year, he said.

The Commonwealth Games 2010 will be held from October 3 to 14.

Comprehensive IT infrastructure for Commonwealth Games

Comprehensive arrangements have been made by the Communications and Information Technology Ministry for ensuring connectivity through a reliable, safe, and high-speed network during Commonwealth Games, 2010.

Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot said besides massive infrastructure works, quiet but significant preparations are also underway to ensure that Information Technology facilitating the games is state of the art. All works are in advanced stages of implementation and will be completed well in time before the commencement of the games, he said.

About Rs 4 billion will be spent by MTNL to wire all venues of Commonwealth Games with high speed internet access to facilitate the largest sporting event to be hosted by India. Three separate but interconnected networks, namely the Security Network, the Broadcasting Network, and Data Network are being implemented by MTNL.

The Broadcasting Network will be responsible for taking live feeds from all stadia and relaying it to the International Broadcasting Centre in Pragati Maidan, from where it would be made available to broadcasters. The Data Network will coordinate activities like ticketing, related logistics etc.

Security network would also be comprised of Optical Fiber Network which would transmit security related information inter & intra stadium for secured & trouble free operation & management of Commonwealth Games in different stadia.

Telecommunications Consultants India (TCIL) under the Department of Telecom is executing works worth about Rs 850 million. The works cover Supply & Installation of Network Switches to be installed in different stadia and venues. These switches will be linked up for the purpose of transmission of games data and security data for operation & management of games in different stadia. In addition, TCIL will be taking care of Supply & Installation of computers equipped with adequate security measures in different places for integrating with games & security data network. TCIL will also build up Intra Stadia Optical Fibre Network for transporting these signals in highly efficient manner. In addition, TCIL shall also take care of supply & installation of office automation, audio - visual equipments along with cable TV for conducting games in proficient way.

Ministry sources said 265 kilometers of cable has been laid in Delhi. Out of the 41 sites under control of Organizing Committee of the Commonwealth Games, 16 sites including different stadia like the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Thyagaraj Stadium, Indira Gandhi Stadium, Chhatrasal Stadium, Police Headquarters, and the St.Stephens, Hindu, Khalsa, Ramjas, Kirori Mal, Daulat Ram colleges and Ludlow Castle school were made available and installation of network equipment is in process.

Preparations have also been made to ensure that entire IT infrastructure for the Games is adequately protected against any malicious elements.

Monsoon test for Commonwealth Games

Delhi residents are eagerly waiting for the onset of the monsoon to bring relief from the summer heat. However, they are also worries that the impending rains could spell further trouble for Commonwealth Games organizers.

With a June 30 deadline for completion of the Games venues fast approaching, the debris around unfinished stadiums, dug-up roads and on-going Metro construction work presents a gloomy picture in the Indian capital.

Monsoon rains are expected to hit the city on schedule around July 1, causing major problems for organisers as they race against time to be ready to host the event, which begins on October 3.

The 12-day sporting extravaganza involving 71 nations mostly from the former British empire is already the most expensive Commonwealth Games in history, with an infrastructure and organising budget of two billion dollars.

The previous edition in Melbourne, Australia in 2006 cost 1.1 billion dollars.

The Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, which hosts the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field events, the swimming complex and the cycle velodrome, is causing most concern.

The Commonwealth Games Federation has repeatedly said that more delays would mean the venues have not been tested properly before the real competition begins.

"It does not take rocket science to know that monsoon hits Delhi sometime in late June or early July, and it has a major slowdown effect on construction," a Delhi government said last week.

Local organisers remain confident that their plans will not be washed away by the annual torrential rains, which reduce much of the city to a quagmire for weeks at a stretch.

"There is no doubt everything will be ready on time, whatever anyone may say," organising committee secretary-general Lalit Bhanot told.

Jaipal Reddy, the senior government minister overseeing the work, last week repeated pledges that the June 30 deadline would be met.

Not everyone shares that optimism, least of all Delhi's harried residents, who negotiate their way every day through a rubble-filled city that often resembles a huge building site.

The latest indication of trouble came from city officials who leaked information to the media that a four-kilometre (2.5 mile) elevated road between the main stadium and the athletes' village would not be finished before mid-August.

The rush to complete Games-related work is also proving hazardous. On May 29, a public transport bus full of passengers sank into a large crater that appeared in a newly constructed road. Municipal officials said the road had caved in because its foundation layers were washed away when sewer pipes underneath began to leak.

Delhi airport Terminal T3 ready

Government of India is planning a bash to celebrate timely completion of Delhi airport Terminal T3. It is one of few Commonwealth Games project getting ready before the event in the face of massive co-ordination challenges. The aviation ministry has invited the country's top 22 bureaucrats including the cabinet secretary and secretaries of ministries of home, revenue, defence, external affairs, surface transport and the intelligence bureau chief to IGI Airport's new terminal (T3) as it has been completed with more than a little help from all of them and is now ready for a July 3 inauguration.

Aviation secretary M Nambiar has overseen the project progress and ensured coordination with scores of other government agencies along with DGCA chief Nasim Zaidi's sharp eye on operational aspects. According to ministry officials, the GMR-led Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL) implemented the Rs 12,000-crore project in just 37 months.

"There were several issues that had the potential to derail this project. But the National Facilitation Council led by the cabinet secretary provided the meeting ground for varied stake holders and ensured that differences and hassles between the various departments were ironed out. So we thought having a thansksgiving at T3 would be ideal for the NCF's final meeting," said a top official.

Giving a sense of the task completed, he said a minimum of 1,000 trucks were required to ferry material to the site to bring five million tons of metal required to complete the project. Due to traffic restrictions on commercial vehicles in Delhi, these trucks used to come from 10pm to 6am when international traffic is at its peak.

Handling these trucks without causing hindrance to the passengers and vehicular traffic was a tough task, said an official.

The project faced interesting challenges like the one to relocate wildlife around the airport. DIAL had to take help from wildlife department for such matters.

Tussle on Cable TV broadcast infrastructure

The Delhi government’s decision for removal of all overhead cable TV wires from a large part of the capital may soon snowball into a tussle between 2,000-odd cable operators, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the telecom service providers. If not sorted out in time, this may lead to a complete blackout of cable TV services to around 8 million consumers in Delhi.

Cable operators want the clearance from the government to share the underground cabling rights given to various telecom firms, including Reliance, Bharti and MTNL. However, cable operators allege that the telcos have not shown any interest to resolve the issue, as some of them are also DTH service providers.

The cable industry has called upon the Delhi government to identify and unbundle the spare capacity with bigger telecom players like Airtel, MTNL and Reliance.

According to a notice given by the MCD, all overhead cable wires in large parts of the city have to be removed by February-end. This is part of the special drive undertaken by the Delhi government to beautify the city ahead of the Commonwealth Games in October. In response, over 2,200 registered cable operators and multi service operators (MSOs) have suggested underground laying of cable wires, covering around 200 km in the city subject to fast track government clearances.

"We have had several rounds of meetings with the MCD officials. We are for the beautification of the capital provided we get clearances from all departments concerned of the Delhi government. We will now approach the chief minister," says Roop Sharma, president, Cable Operator's Federation of India (COFI), the apex body of all registered cable operators.

According to cable operators, there are already around 600 km of underground cable wires carrying cable TV signals in the capital. But, owing to ongoing construction works by Delhi Metro and other agencies, underground cabling in a large area has been damaged.

The cable industry has put forth several suggestions before the Delhi government to tackle the issue of removal of overhead cable wires. These include formation of special corridors for cable laying by single-window clearance for permissions from various government agencies like NDMC, MCD, PWD and DDA, and laying of common ducts and common fibre.

"Once we get the government support on our suggestions, it won't take more than four-five months to shift overhead cable wires underground," said Sharma. All stakeholders concerned are likely to meet again later this week.

Postal services @ Commonwealth Games venues

Department of Post has proposed to set-up fully computerized post-offices at various venues identified for Commonwealth Games to provide services to the large number of tourist that are expected to turn-up during the event.

"We have written letter to the games authority for space to set-up completely computerized temporary post offices during common wealth games and are waiting for their reply," said a senior officer from Department of Post who did not want to be named.

The department has identified six spots where these post offices can be set-up. These slots include venues at Commonwealth Games village and three officially approved hotels by Commonwealth Games authority namely Ashoka, Samrat and Janpath. DoP has requested 200 to 300 square feet of space for these post offices. The decision on the size and model of IT infrastructure required for these post offices are yet to be worked out.

"We are waiting for consent of the CWG authority. Once we get the permission then we will work out on the infrastructure and support system that will be required for it. We are expecting that the decision on this will be taken in the next 10-15 days," said the official.

DoP will provide all the services that are being provided by its post-offices under Project Arrow, including travel and financial services from Thomas Cook India.

Common Wealth games are scheduled to start from 3rd October 2010 in Delhi.

No stoppages between Airport and Okhla

With the opening of the third Munirka flyover for commuters on Thursday, the road from the Okhla flyover to Indira Gandhi International Airport has become signal free.

Inaugurating the flyover, Delhi Public Works Department Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan reiterated that all the Commonwealth Games related projects would be completed within the stipulated time as constant monitoring was being done to accelerate the pace of work.

The Minister said Delhi would showcase its world-class infrastructure during the Commonwealth Games. “We are confident that the visitors during the Games would be able to carry a good impression about the city with their memorable stay,” he said.

With Outer Ring Road being the main arterial road as it caters to important residential and non-residential areas, he said a need was felt to improve the corridor starting from National Highway-8 intersection to Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, so that Outer Ring Road could become signal-free up to Okhla flyover.

The scheme for “Corridor Improvement of Outer Ring Road from IIT Gate to NH-8” was accordingly undertaken and the project comprised construction of a flyover at Africa Avenue and Aruna Asaf Ali Marg intersections; another at Vivekanand Marg, Nelson Mandela Marg and Poorvi Marg intersections; and the third flyover at Rao Tula Ram Marg and Benito Juarez Marg intersections. All the three flyovers have now been completed and opened to traffic.

Fire @ Commonwealth Games Rugby venue

A fire broke out late last night at the rugby stadium under construction for next year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The blaze had started in the venue seats and taken almost two hours to extinguish but no casualties were reported.

A spokesman for the fire brigade said: "PVC sheet was being laid when the fire broke out where welding work was in progress."

After the fire was reported at the under construction Rugby stadium around 7 pm, six fire engines were rushed to the spot. The fire was controlled by around 9:15 p.m. The extent of the damage was not immediately known but the officials confirmed that this will not delay the preparation schedule for 2010 Commonwealth Games venue.

The site was cordoned off by private security guards deployed by Gammon India, which is constructing the stadium. The under-construction stadium at Hindu College in Delhi University will host rugby sevens matches during the Commonwealth Games, which are due to begin on October 3, 2010.

CGF not happy with preparations

A Commonwealth Games Federation official has warned that progress in infrastructure for the 2010 Commonwealth Games should not disguise ongoing concerns about slow preparations and lapsed deadlines.

The CGG co-ordination commission, chaired by Austin Sealy, is currently visiting New Delhi and received presentations from Indian officials on building progress and implementing Games operations. Sealy also visited all competition venues before issuing a statement Wednesday.

"There has been noticeable progress over the last two months, however, with effectively only nine months remaining, the intensity must continue, and in fact, works must be further accelerated," Sealy said.

"We urge the construction agencies to ensure that no further delays are encountered as this will place the Commonwealth Games OC (Organizing Committee) in a difficult position and compromise final preparations and games readiness."

India will host the event Oct. 3-14 next year, featuring 71 nations and territories of the Commonwealth. It hoped that the Games would enhance its credentials to host even bigger events, maybe even the Olympics.

"There was a sense of energy and urgency from Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the OC, and the entire New Delhi team about getting on with the job, which is a positive, and it is clear that everyone is committed to making these Games a success," Sealy said.

He said the commission was concerned that the timetable for venue completion had, in most cases, been extended by at least three months since the September deadline, and, in some cases, it seemed venues would not be handed over to the OC until June.

He urged the construction agencies to ensure that there were no further delays.

The four-member commission was expanded by three members for the visit, adding representatives from Australia, Wales and South Africa. It will now report to the CGF and the Organizing Committee.

The CGF president Michael Fennell will visit New Delhi on Friday for meetings with Organizing Committee members to discuss concerns raised by the commission.

New Delhi won the Games over a bid from Hamilton.

India not to bid for 2020 Olympic Games

India will not bid for the Olympics in the near future even if it organizes a successful Commonwealth Games next year, sports minister Gill said on Wednesday.

Gill, speaking in parliament during a discussion on the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, said he was not in favor of the country looking further ahead towards hosting the Olympics as the gap between organizing Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games is quite big.

"Some of my colleagues (MPs) said casually that we should be bidding for Olympics. I'm not sure India should be," Gill said.

Gill did a reality check by asking fellow country men to consider poverty in India and infrastructure expenditure to host Olympic Games. He stressed that China spent $50 billion on last Olympics and highlighted that India is not yet ready for such a spend.

Indian sports officials have often spoken of wanting to bid for the Olympics as early as in 2020 and see a successful staging of the Commonwealth Games as the first step in that direction. Hosting Olympics still remain a dream to be pursued in distant future

Indian organizers and Commonwealth Games chiefs have tried to patch over differences after acrimony about New Delhi's readiness to host the 2010 event, India's biggest multi-sport event since the Asian Games in 1982.

Gill, a former federal chief election commissioner, assured MPs the infrastructure for the October 3-14 Commonwealth Games would be ready.

"The stadia will be completed in time," he said. "The government is investing substantial amount of money for the upgradation of various stadium to be used for the Games.

"These stadia will become state-of-the-art venues of international standards."

"The government of India and the organizing committee are fully committed to completing all preparations for the Games in good time," said Gill.

The Commonwealth Games will feature 71 nations and territories from the former British empire.

Delhi: City of flyovers

Promising world class road infrastructure in the national capital during next year's Commonwealth Games, chief minister Sheila Dikshit today said visitors of the showpiece event will remember Delhi as a city of flyovers.

Addressing a function after formally dedicating two new flyovers at South Delhi, Dikshit said she was confident of completing all the road infrastructure projects well in time which will provide uninterrupted connectivity in the city.

"There would be a signal-free road from Nehru Place to IGI Airport by November this year as a third flyover on Outer Ring Road will be commissioned next month," Dikshit said.

She dedicated two flyovers to Delhiites -- one at the Africa Avenue and Aruna Asaf Ali Marg intersection and the other one at the Rao Tula Ram Marg and Benito Juarez Marg intersection.

"We are confident that the visitors during the Games would be able to carry a good impression about the city," she said adding that they will remember Delhi as city of flyovers.

Noting that hosting such a prestigious international sports event has provided an excellent opportunity to the city to undertake a large number of developmental works, she said her government was gearing up to offer the best facilities to its visitors.

Dikshit also said Delhi would become the first city in the world to have highest number of CNG low-floor buses during the Games as the fleet strength of these buses will be 3,500 by March 2010.

The city government has undertaken a comprehensive exercise to install modern street lights, improve roads and enhance greening, including giving the underneath of flyovers an attractive look, she said.

The flyovers have unique feature such as noise barriers, concrete pavement over its entire length for maintenance free and enhanced service life.

Commonwealth Games chief caught napping.. OOPS..!!

Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell has been keeping a hawk's eye on Delhi's preparations for the games. Earlier last month he had raised concerns about India’s preparedness for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

However he was found napping during a presentation made by the Organising Committee (OC) at the Thyagaraj Stadium here Thursday. During the presentation, Fennell and some delegates were caught on camera dozing off much to the disappointment of the Indian officials.

Fennell has raised questions on the OC’s ability to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games and even asked for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention. He had warned that the Games was heading for a "partial failure" unless the organisers pulled up their socks. Fennell is expected to meet the Prime Minister here on Friday.

With some 110 delegates from 71 Commonwealth countries for federation’s General Assembly slated for Oct 12, Fennell went around the city visiting all the venues and the Games Village. And by the time his convoy of three buses and eight cars came to Thyagaraj Stadium, it seemed that the trip had taken a toll on him.

Commonwealth Games delegates inspect preparations

With less than a year to go before the Commonwealth Games 2010 begin in New Delhi, hectic parlays are on to ensure that the event is carried out without any flaws in infrastructure requirements.

The head of the Commonwealth Games Federation Mike Fennell is in the national capital now and started his round of meetings on Wednesday.

Fennell met the sports minister to discuss the progress of work. He met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for related discussions too.

Fennell had earlier raised concerns about the pace of work for the 2010 Games that are only a few months away. He, reportedly, does not sound satisfied with the pace of work.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit's government faces the ultimate test on Thursday as delegates from about 71 countries, along with Mike Fennell are in Delhi to inspect the 2010 Games venues. The delegates will be given free passage across the capital to review all the areas.

The daily commuters in the national capital need to brace themselves for heavy jams as the delegation will start its review on Thursday morning. The tour is scheduled to begin at 0830 hrs and end by 1900 hrs. The Traffic department of Delhi Police has advised commuters to avoid key arterial roads like Kamal Ataturk Marg, Safdarjung Road, Lodhi Road, Mathura Road, National Highway-24, Talkatora Road, Raisina Road, Janpath, Prithviraj Road and Aurobindo Marg. While roads will not be closed, congestion is expected on the assigned routes.

Commonwealth Games General Assembly meet: Delhi unhappy

Residents in New Delhi expressed their unhappiness on Wednesday after authorities announced many major roads would be closed to give inspecting Commonwealth Games officials a smooth ride through the city.

Delegates from the 71 teams have arrived for the general assembly of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and will take an inspection tour of the city's preparations on Thursday.

One year ahead of the opening ceremony, Delhi is struggling to convince event organisers that it will be able to host a successful Games in a city notorious for traffic congestion, pollution and infrastructure chaos.

Delhi Traffic Police has put up notice that residents must not use most key city centre routes throughout the day, and maps published in newspapers highlighted which roads would be cleared for Games delegates between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm.

A recent study by the state-run Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) said six million vehicles travelled New Delhi's roads, with 900 added every day.

The move has not gone down well with Delhi drivers who already face congested roads and long traffic jams made worse by the hectic construction activity ahead of the Games.

Delhiites were unanimous in highlighting that it would have been good to give the delegates a taste of traffic management. This would have resulted in Delhi government taking steps faster to improve the situation.

Sheila Dixit submits Commonwealth Games report to PM

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who's been facing criticism for running behind schedule on projects for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, met prime minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday to submit a progress report.

This was Dikshit's first meeting with the PM afterGames Federation chief Michael Fennell wrote to him expressing concern overDelhi's ability to host the Games from October 3, 2010. However, Dikshit gave an assurance that all efforts are being taken to make the sporting extravaganza a great success and that all the projects will be completed well in time.

Dikshit told the PM that her administration was doing its best to complete the projects before the deadline, but said Fennell's letter should not have been "leaked" to the media.

Dikshit has been upset with the letter that raised doubts whether Delhi would match the standards set by earlier hosts Melbourne and Manchester.

After the review meeting, the prime minister asked the sports minister to coordinate with Indian Olympic Association officials to fine-tune preparations.

MTNL invites bids to set up IT network

After bagging the deal to set up the communications IT network for the Common Wealth Games, MTNL on Friday invited bids from global and Indian companies to build this network. MTNL has said the contract to set up this infrastructure in Delhi is worth more than Rs 400 crore.

Post the Common Wealth Games, MTNL will use this infrastructure to provide Delhi with a secure dedicated communications network that will allow the city to host global meets. This is because, large global meets like that of the G20 requires host cities to have secure, dedicated communication and IT networks that can be used by the delegates of visiting countries.

In a notification on its website to all potential bidders, MTNL said: “We intend to set up a world class communications infrastructure to meet the Common Wealth Games 2010 requirements. The proposed network shall be a converged (MPLS-based IP Infrastructure) network, which shall be a 2-layer centrally managed internet (IP) backbone network, designed to provide reliable routes to cover all possible destinations.”

“Along with the complexity of the application and service delivery, there are further challenges of making sure a very high degree of reliability of the operations... On top of everything, there are requirements around security threats to make sure that network runs without any outage during the games event,” the notification on the is website added.

Importantly, MTNL has also specified that the contract will be given only to those IT and telecom hardware companies who have set up and managed similar facilities at one Olympic, Common Wealth or FIFA (world cup) in the past 10 years. Bidders have also been asked to furnish proof of having prior experience in providing these services.

Besides, MTNL has also categorically stated that only those firms that have earned profits over the last two years and have registered revenues of over Rs 500 each annually during this period can bid for the contract. “In case of subsidiaries of foreign firms, for the purpose of financial strength, turn over of the parent company will also be considered. The Audited Balance sheets/ annual reports in support of above should be submitted along with the bid,” the notification added.

Hardware firms must also show proof of having installed equipment that will be part of this contract such as routers to mobile operators in a minimum of 60 locations, the bid document adds. The deadline for the submission of bids is October 27, 2009.

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Melbourne, Victoria gives tips to CWG 2010

Premier of Victoria, John Brumby called on Suresh Kalmadi, the Chairman of Organising Committee of Commonwealth Games 2010 here on Saturday.

Brumby during his visit met the organising committee officials and reviewed the progress of various stadiums and infrastructure projects coming up for the Commonwealth Games. Brumby also shared his experience of holding such sports events.

Melbourne, Victoria hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games and it was the largest sporting event to be staged in the city after the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events held.

Brumby on this occasion on Saturday also wrote a note on the partnership between Melbourne and New Delhi.

Preparations are on in New Delhi for hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Delhi had bagged the games after beating the Canadian city Hamilton in the bid for the games.

Earlier, Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Mike Fennell has requested an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the slow pace of work ahead of next year's New Delhi games.

But Union Sports Minister Manohar Singh Gill has expressed confidence that the venues would be ready after visiting the stadiums.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be India's first major international sports event after the 1982 Asian Games. New Delhi hosted the inaugural Asian Games in 1951 and again in 1982

Delhi metro to provide better facilities

Delhi Metro is undergoing a change in order to improve the travelling conditions for its commuters. Ranked already as world-class transport system, Delhi Metro wants to improve the services further.

Metro launched in Delhi a few years back has become the main transport service provider. With around 70 Kms operational, government is planning to add another 100 kilometers within next one year.

The new trains brought for Phase II have several improved features like CCTV cameras with eight-hour backup for added security, charging points in all coaches for cell phones and laptop, improved air-conditioning to provide a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius even in packed conditions and heaters for winter. The present trains only have ACs.

With the network spreading, the new trains will have external display boards indicating the final destination stations and digital route maps on each door inside train with lights to indicate the present station, route covered and final stop for all trains in different colored lights. The noise levels in trains will be reduced and the lighting will also automatically get adjusted as the trains enter and exit tunnels during the day to save power.

Even mechanically, the trains have smoother braking, better acceleration and a higher maximum operational speed of 85 kmph, compared to the present 80 kmph. An insulation mat has been provided on the roof to prevent sparking and tripping caused by strings of kites. The trains also have a better Train Control Management System.

Watch Delhi Metro video here

Delhi Metro commuters can expect relief from the "crushed dense load" conditions in packed trains. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), on Tuesday, got the nod from commissioner of railway safety for new trains manufactured for Phase II. Of these, 13 full train sets of four cars each have already been delivered to DMRC depots and are in the final stages of testing. These will first be put on Line 2 (Central Secretariat to Jehangirpuri) and then Line 3 (Dwarka sector 13 to Anand Vihar/Noida).

The 13 trains, which have already come, have been stabled at Khyber Pass and Yamuna Bank depots. Of these, two trains will be added on Line 2 by October, another 3 trains to Line 3 by November. Eight trains are needed for the Noida line. All these will be four-car train sets and Delhi Metro will introduce the first six-car train set in May 2010.

With Phase II of operations scheduled to start by next year, and the Metro ridership reaching an expected 2 million, the corporation had ordered 424 coaches of broad gauge for 83 trains, 37 with four-cars (coaches) and 46 with six-cars which can carry 1178 and 1792 commuters in "dense load" and "crushed dense load" conditions respectively.

Fennell's concerns: India calls it false alarm..!!

Indian government officials have responded that Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Michael Fennell has referred to a four-month old Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report while raising concerns over Delhi Commonwealth Games preparations.

Fennell shot off a letter to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) yesterday to seek the intervention of the Prime Minister in the organization of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

A top official of the organising committee said that the CAG report had details of last year's preparation but development work including construction of venues and organisation have improved rapidly in the last few month. He claimed that the organizers have done well in all aspects of organisation and the venues will be ready well before the Commonwealth Games start.

The official said that better co-ordination between the organising committee, which is being headed by IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi, and the government would have avoided such situation. Kalmadi will meet sports minister MS Gill and will give him a detailed update on the development work of the Commonwealth Games.

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