Commonwealth Games tourist info cafes getting good response

Tourist information cafes opened in the capital to provide details about the city to visitors during the Commonwealth Games are getting a good response, said a professional associated with the project.

Forty such cafes are to be opened across the city. These would be a one-point information hub for tourists coming to Delhi during the Oct 3-14 sporting event.

Besides having counters for providing details in eight languages on accommodation, bus routes, food, shopping destinations and culture, the cafes have facilities for food and beverages as well as souvenirs.

The cafes have been conceived by Delhi-based artist Ved Pohoja and his associates. They are built on land provided by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NMDC) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

“As of now the cafes have been opened at Red Fort, Connaught Place and Birla Mandir. By the month-end, all 40 kiosks would become operational. The cafes remain open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Saurabh Chauhan, who is associated with the project.

Chauhan said the cafes are getting a good public response. “Lots of people are visiting the kiosks seeking information. As of now most of the people are from Delhi but as we get close to the Games we are looking forward to cater to foreign and other tourists, he said.

CM inaugurates tourist information kiosks

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today inaugurated a "tourist information cafe" in the city which would cater to the information needs of both native and foreign visitors to the capital during and after the Commonwealth Games.

The tourist information cafe is a combination of an interactive touch screen, a quick bite-cum-beverages and Delhi Memories Counter. Similar kiosks are being set up in various parts of the city.

After inaugurating the kiosk near the Birla Mandir in central Delhi, Dikshit said she was hopeful the cafes would be beneficial to the visitors during the Games and would provide them with all the details they want.

The touch screen with various sub sections gives details on the culture, food, tourist attractions and shopping among others which may be required by the visitors.
The information is available in eight foreign and Indian languages.

Thirty-eight more cafes are all set to be operational in the next week.
Delhi Memories counter has a collection of T-shirts, caps, bags, crockery, chocolates, stationery, key chains among other stuff.

The kiosk was designed by a Delhi-based artist Ved Pohoja and three of his associates and would be operational today onwards for 60 days.

Metro stations to provide info regarding CWG

Information about Commonwealth Games will be available at all metro stations soon. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is bringing out a Commonwealth Games Information booklet which will be available at all Metro stations. According to DMRC officials, the booklet will provide all the necessary information to the commuters during the Games.

“The comprehensive booklet will not only carry information about the various corridors and stations, but will also have details about the various tourist attractions of the city along with their metro connectivity. The Games booklet will have detailed information on the city’s hotels, markets, railway stations, other emergency numbers,” said Anuj Dayal, DMRC spokesperson.

The DMRC has also decided to launch a special commuter-friendly service so that foreign tourists who will visit Delhi during the Games do not gather a negative note about the capital city, he added.

“We are going to beef up strength of our Metro Citizens’ Forum from 400 to 1,000 heads before the games. Besides, we have tied up with Bharat Scouts and Guides who are going to provide volunteers to Delhi Metro for the Games. These volunteers will be deputed at Metro stations and trains to cater to the increased traffic volume and also ensure that no one is causing nuisance for the commuters,” said Dayal.

“Law violators and trouble creators will be dealt in strictly. If they do not pay any heed to volunteers’ requests, we will immediately hand them over to the police,” said a senior DMRC officer.

Besides this arrangement, the Central Industrial Security Force has also initiated a special ‘random checks’ drive to ensure security of the Metro passengers. Special squads have been formed to conduct such drives in metros.

Gas stations may serve as information kiosks..!!

After doubling up as convenience stores, petrol pumps are set to serve as information kiosks also during the Commonwealth Games in October.

During the largest multi-sport event to date in India, Delhi's 400-odd petrol pumps will, besides selling fuel, provide visitors information on the Commonwealth Games events, their timing and venues, logistics and other tourist information.

Besides being easily accessible, petrol pumps are almost evenly spreadout in the entire national capital and can serve as one-stop information point for athletes from 72 nations, a senior official said.

The idea of using fuel stations for benefit of tourists is a brainchild of Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Jitin Prasada who is likely to make a formal proposal to the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee shortly.

Under the proposal, specially trained persons will man the information kiosks at the petrol pumps during sports extravaganza from October 3 to 14.

The outlets may also sell tickets for the 19th edition of Commonwealth Games, he said.

State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has 199 petrol pumps in Delhi, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) 105 and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) 96 retail outlets.

This is the first time the Commonwealth Games are being held in India and the second time the event has been held in Asia (after 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

"Delhi government is putting in extra effort to make the historic city look its best for the visitors during the Games. And Prasada is now offering his help to make it sportsperson- friendly," the official said.

The kiosks would also provide information on shopping areas, tourism attractions, airline and train timings and assist in travel ticketing.

Besides selling petrol, diesel and lubricants, fuel dispensers already offer non-fuel convenience stores or superstores and food joints.

MCD to install 2000 information kiosks before CWG

Planning to take out your family for a dinner or a movie, but worried about parking? All you worries will now take a backseat as the everything from list of restaurants, schools, shopping areas, parking lots in a particular locality will now be available at your doorstep.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has already installed 43 air-conditioned information kiosks in various colonies and are planning to install 2,000 such kiosks in colonies, market areas etc before the Commonwealth Games.

The 43 of them have been installed in areas like Paharganj, Lodhi Colony, R K Puram, Karol Bagh etc while another 100 would be installed in prominent areas in the city by month-end.

The kiosks are being set-up in a bid to provide doorstep facilities to the citizens of Delhi and for enhancing the appearance of Delhi ahead of the Commonwealth Games. The kiosks are being set up in selected areas which see high footfalls.

A top MCD official said that they are hoping to earn Rs.101 crore per annum from this project.

At present, services like list of hotels, restaurants, yellow pages, geographical maps and road maps of Delhi, airlines information, local bus and Metro information, ATM counters etc are available from these kiosks.

But slowly the MCD will also include options like public grievances, passport application status and drops boxes for bill payments.

The tender for installing these kiosks has been awarded to Bartronics India Ltd and IBM on build-operate-transfer basis for a period of nine years.

The kiosks will also provide directory of local housing society including details of all available services within the colony will also be provided at a click of a button. Eventually contact numbers of carpenters, plumbers functioning in an area will also be made available.