All stadia to be handed over to Commonwealth Games OC by 1-Aug

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) said on Monday that the nine venues it was preparing for the Commonwealth Games were completely ready and it would hand them over to the Organising Committee by August 1. This is earlier than committed date of 15-Aug. Talkatora stadium has already been handed over to the organizing committee a week back.

Dismissing media reports that claimed that the SP Mukherjee Swimming Stadium, one of the venues it was developing, was far from complete, a senior SAI official said all work at the stadia was as good as over. Only the setup required to host the event is not prepared as there is no sports meet planned in immediate future.

"As far as sports requirements are concerned, everything is complete," HS Kingra, special officer of Commonwealth Games, told TOI on Monday. "There are no problems in SAI stadia."

Referring to media reports that there is one diving board less than planned and can hamper the event, he said: "As per requirements in diving, two diving boards are prescribed. At all international swimming stadia, only 2 are required. There were also reports that the warm-up pool hinges are loose. But I ask how can they get loose when they are yet to be used? They are loose because they have been not been tightened which we will do when we have to host an event. We do not want anyone to use the facilities and get hurt in absence of safety teams.

Meanwhile, a SAI official said that the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, one of the venues which was yet to be inaugurated, was ready and would be handed over the Commonwealth Games organising committee by August 1.

"The building is ready, field of play is also ready. Some work on the lawn outside is being done which will be completed soon," he said.

Commonwealth Games OC takes over Talkatora stadium

Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee took over the first completed venue on Friday — the Talkatora indoor boxing stadium. With construction over, the Organising Committee will now focus on the remaining technical work at the venue.

Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the CWG OC, said that in the coming week, the OC would be taking over more venues, a process that would continue for another month. "All stadiums are ready and some small works are left at the Talkatora and Jawahar Lal Nehru stadia" he said.

Kalmadi added that all training areas were also complete but most individual sports committees had informed them that they would not need to use the facility for more than a couple of weeks. "It is only partially true that the training arenas were delayed where athletes could practise but we will make up for lost time," he said.

The Talkatora stadium is one of the city's greenest buildings, having been constructed with recycled building material, fly ash and heat reflective glass.
The boxing event is scheduled from October 5 to 13.

The stadium, with a capacity of 3,035, has been built at a cost of Rs 150 crore. It also boasts of a parking space for 500 cars. With the OC taking over, about 80 of its members and about 500 volunteers would be stationed here eventually.

The facility centre at the venue is equipped with a rainwater harvesting system and a dual knob flushing system. Around 200 CCTVs will secure the venue. During the Games, each floor of the centre would be used for different purposes. The ground floor for instance will have athlete cubicles, medical office warm-up area and athlete lounge. The first floor will have a doping-control office, federation office, technical official lounge, committee room, meeting room and changing rooms, among other facilities.

Delayed monsoon threatens Commonwealth Games

Delhi finally got its first monsoon rains on Monday bringing in respite from swealtering heat. However, the monsoon rains are delayed by about 2 weeks and causing anxiety to Common wealth Games Organizing committee as the monsoon may drag on well into October.

Typically the monsoon hits Delhi between 15-June and 20-June. The rains continue till mid September. However, a delay in beginning of monsoon rains almost always have a longer delay at end of monsoon rains. The weatherman’s predictions that Delhi can receive rains till 10-Oct is causing a lot of anxiety amongst Commonwealth Games Organizing committee.

Due to the delay in monsoons this year, the weatherman has predicted the possibility of rains during the fortnight of the Commonwealth Games. Rains have been predicted during the last week of September and atleast first week of October. This will be a major problem for all outdoor events to be held during the games, which include opening and closing ceremonies, sporting events such as cycling and other field and outdoor competitions.

The various venues for outdoor events are the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the RK Khanna Tennis Stadium, the Delhi University Rugby Stadium and the National Stadium for Hockey, all which are open air facilities. Some outdoor cultural events too have been planned at Central Park in Connaught Place, Dilli Haat and India Gate lawns.

In addition to various events by the Union Sports Ministry and Union Culture Ministry, even the Union Tourism Ministry has planned to promote tourism in Delhi under the banner of “Brand Delhi”. This plan includes road shows, tableaux and open air events promoting Indian culture among tourist. The aim of Brand Delhi is to invite all, including tourist to “come out and play”.

While the government and game officials have showed concern of rains playing spoilsport, they have confirmed that arrangement have been made and continue with the games even in the face of continuous rains.

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.

Ornamental plants for Delhi during CWG

Delhi will be beautified with at least six million ornamental potted plants for the upcoming Commonwealth Games this year, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said Monday.

“Six million ornamental potted plants are being arranged for beautification of Delhi and various sporting venues for the Commonwealth Games 2010,” Ramesh informed the Rajya Sabha.

“The Delhi Forests and Wildlife Department, the Delhi Parks and Garden Society, the Public Works Department (PWD) and other civic agencies are arranging the plants,” he added.

The Commonwealth Games are slated to be held Oct 3-14 this year.

Besides these, there will also be plantations on roadsides, roundabouts and other vacant areas for the mega sports event, the minister added.

Nigerian atheletes to camp in China before CWG

Nigerian sports Minister and chairman of the National Sports Commission, Ibrahim Bio disclosed that he plans to camp Nigerian athletes for the Commonwealth Games in China or another Asian country that has similar climatic conditions with India.

The Minister who was speaking in Abuja said that the exercise will enable the selected athletes concentrate on training and acclimatize before the Games billed for October 3- 14 in New Delhi, India.

He added that his ministry will ensure that Nigeria gets good results in the Games even as the fortunes of the country's athletics has somewhat dwindled in recent times. Bio blamed the development on lack of planning and organisation of grassroots development programmes to produce new athletes.

"Once the athletes are selected for the Games, we'll will take them to Asia for camping for a period of time. We want them to acclimatise and concentrate," Bio said. On the other hand, Athletics Federation of Nigeria technical director, Sunday Bada disclosed that the Ijebu-Ode camp, which was closed for the Easter holiday, will re-open after the AFN Golden League this weekend."We want to use the performance of the athletes at the meet in Ibadan as a yardstick for selection," he said.

Indira Gandhi CWG stadium to be inaugrated tomorrow

Dr. M.S. Gill, Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, will inaugurate the remodeled and reconstructed Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here tomorrow in the presence of Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi and Pratik Prakashbapu Patil , Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports.

The new look stadium, with built-up area of 72,425 sqm, has been completely renovated and upgraded for the XIX Commonwealth Games at a total cost of Rs. 240 Crore and will be the venue for Gymnastics. With a total seating capacity of 14,500, the stadium is the largest Indoor stadium in India, with state of the art facilities including 2200 lux sports lighting system.

The stadium will have 3 level seating and 4 entry points. It is equipped with Green building features like thermal insulation of entire roof, gypsum board partitions and wall panellings , external glazing with low energy tinted glasses and energy efficient lighting fixtures etc. Water conservation feature like water harvesting by recharging of existing lake in the complex by rain water also form part of the complex.

The entire stadium will be under electronic surveillance through fixed and PTZ cameras connected to central control room, which will have integrated network for connecting various facilities, to meet the operational requirement of various tournaments.

Pakistan wrestlers to train in Iran

Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) plans to train its top ten wrestlers in Iran ahead of the Commonwealth Games to be held later this year.

Pakistan has decided to field seven wrestlers in the Commonwealth Games and most probably four in the Asian Games. Pakistan would send ten leading wrestlers of the country to Iran for two months training.

"Federal Sports Ministry has already given assurance that the federation would be supported, in its mission to provide high-class training to the top wrestlers abroad ahead of the twin major international assignments,” the secretary of the PWF Chaudhry Muhammad Asghar said.

Commonwealth Games would be conducted in New Delhi from October 3-14 while the Asian Games are slated to be organised by China in Guangzhou from November 12-27. “In a bid to pick the probables for the India event, national championship would be held in Faisalabad from April 21 to 23. The camp of the probables would be initiated in Islamabad Sports Complex the next day, after picking of the probables,” Asghar said.

However, he made it clear that the top ten wrestlers for Iran tour would be finalised during camp trials, saying, the final seven-member squad for the seven weight categories competitions in India would be picked after a month long training in the neighbouring country.

He said that he is hopeful that the country would get atleast one gold medal in wrestling in Commonwealth Games. He said that those three or four wrestlers who would perform better in the India affair would be given the chance to represent the country in the Asian Games in China as well.

He also disclosed plans to send four wrestlers to the Asian Beach Games to be staged in Muscat in December. “We plan to take two wrestlers for the Muscat Games from the lot which will be fielded in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and the remaining two will be selected from the rest of the available pool in the country, for which the federation plans to hold National Beach Wrestling Championship in Karachi on July 26,” the PWF official informed. The preparatory camp for the Asian Beach Games would be held in Lahore, he added.

Chaudhry conceded that the PWF has given the names of three young wrestlers, who the federation would like to field in the Youth Olympics Qualifiers to be staged in Uzbekistan from April1 8-19.

“We have decided to field Salamat Ali (46kg), Haider Ali (54kg) and Aslam Pervez (63kg) in the Youth Olympics Qualifiers,” he said. “I am optimistic that at least two of the three will make it to the Youth Olympics,” the PWF secretary said.

“Salmat and Aslam Pervez can make a cut for the Singapore affair,” he said. He said if any boy qualifies for the Youth Olympics to be held in Singapore in August then they would be kept abroad for training ahead of the grand youth competition of the world.

Mock drill planned at Metro stations

Delhi will conduct mock drills at 4 metro stations to check the preparedness of Delhi Metro staff and security agencies in the event of terror attacks.

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The drills, to be supervised by officials from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, will take place at the Rajouri Garden, Mandi House, Netaji Subhash Place and Dilshad Garden stations at 1130 hrs on Friday.

The exercise would disrupt Metro services for 15-20 minutes.

Different scenarios like serial bomb blasts and explosions triggered by a human bomb will be simulated and response action and time will be monitored. The aim is to check the preparedness of Delhi Metro staff and security agencies. It will also test the coordination between the Metro staff, police and fire brigade.

Since 2005, more than 15 mock drills have been conducted at Metro stations, in which scenarios such as terror attacks, evacuation of trains and stations, derailment and fire were created.

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Delhi Metro ferries around a million commuters daily on its network of 96 km. Ahead of the Commonwealth Games in October, it will span to nearly all corners of Delhi as well as suburbs like Gurgaon, covering 190 km.

Chef de Missions satisfied with CWG venues

Chef de Missions from the participating countries today inspected the venues for the 2010 Commonwealth Games and were impressed with facilities, according to the organizers.

The delegates, including Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Michael Fennell, have gathered here for the three-day Chef de Mission seminar, which commenced yesterday.

They visited Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex, the Games Village, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex and the Rugby 7 venue at Delhi University.

At the Games Village, the delegates were shown a set of furnished apartments, where they got to see the facilities that would be provided to the visiting athletes and officials during the Games, a CWG Organising Committee release said.

"I am confident that Delhi will organise excellent Commonwealth Games. At the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, work is going on, but I am sure that everything will be ready in time.

CWG archery range inaugurated

Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy today inaugurated the archery venue for the 2010 Commonwealth Games at the Yamuna Sports Complex here.

The 3,500-seater state-of-the-art stadium, which will host the preliminary rounds of the archery events during the October 3-14 Games, has been constructed over an area of 4.8 hectors at an estimated cost of Rs 25 crore.

“I am happy to inaugurate this beautiful stadium, which is equipped with all kinds of international level facilities,” Reddy said after inaugurating the venue.

The curvilinear form of the aesthetically designed building will ensure an unhindered view of the proceedings at the middle from all the sides of the gallery, which also give easy accessibility to the differently-abled spectators.

“It looks good and nice and I hope all the players will enjoy their events in the venue during the prestigious Games,” Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna said after taking a round of the stadium.

“I am also sure that all the venues will be ready well in advance for the mega-event, which will be a big occasion for our country,” he added.

YSC will host the preliminary rounds of archery events from October 4-6, while the final competitions will be held at the India Gate from October 7-10.

Nigeria worried about its preparations for Delhi Games

Brown Ebewele, has expressed fears for Nigeria's chances at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

The former national athlete regretted that too much attention was being paid to the 2010 World Cup plans to the detriment of the Commonwealth Games in October, adding that Nigeria may post her worst performance ever in Delhi.

“Nobody is saying anything about our preparations for the Commonwealth Games. It has always been like that anyway and now that this is a World Cup year, it‘s even worse,” Ebewele said.

“All attention is focused on football. Look at the time it took them to get a foreign coach for the Super Eagles. So, if football can suffer like that, what about athletics, which has been virtually abandoned over the years?

"Nobody is bothered about the plight of other sports just because of football. It‘s a pathetic situation. Athletics which used to be our strength is dying. Now we are looking at events where we hope to get medals in Delhi because we are not even sure of winning medals in a sport like boxing, which was also our strength before."

“Delhi 2010 may end up being our worst Commonwealth Games ever, if we continue like this.”

He called on the sports authorities to come to the rescue of athletics and other sports, saying athletes’ welfare was important if Nigeria hoped to regain her place in world athletics.

GREEN Talkatora stadium inaugrated

Delhi’s Chief Minister Smt. Shiela Dikshit inaugurated the Talkatora sporting complex on Wednesday. Talkatora Stadium complex will be an environmentalist’s delight. Constructed with recycled building material, fly ash and heat reflective glass, the dome-shaped stadium is a perfect green zone.

The complex encloses the stadium and a facility block. The stadium has been connected to the block through a tunnel which will be used by athletes during the Games.

Talkatora, which is the venue for the boxing competition, and the stadium will accommodate 2,700 spectators and has a parking capacity for 500 cars.

Smt. Dikshit said efforts are on to make the Games a memorable event so that Delhi can host bigger sporting events in the future.

Elaborating on various infrastructure development projects, She said the city must seize the opportunity to present itself as "a major destination for international sporting events".

The Delhi government has undertaken several key infrastructure development projects as part of its preparation for the Games.

Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi Organising Committee Chairman Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, said India could now bid for the Olympics. "All Games-related projects will be completed as per their deadlines." Kalmadi said.

New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) chairman Parimal Rai while elaborating on the state-of-the-art facilities being provided at Talkatora Stadium said the complex had been upgraded with acoustic ceiling, score boards, sports lighting etc.

Speaking on the facility block, Rai said: "it is a multi-purpose air-conditioned building which has been constructed in accordance to the green building concept. Heat reflective glass has been used for the facade of this block. Rain water harvesting provisions as well as dual knob flushing system have been included in the design concept."

During the Commonwealth Games, each floor of the facility-block will be used for a specific purpose. For instance, the ground floor of the block will have athlete cubicles, medical office warm-up area and athlete lounge. The first floor will have a doping-control office, federation office, and technical official lounge, committee room, meeting room and changing rooms, among other facilities.

Around 104 CCTV cameras will be fitted on the periphery walls of the stadium. Natural resources and habitat have been integrated into the overall design of this stadium.

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.

CWG: 70% hotel rooms ready

The XXVIIth meeting of the ‘Task Force’ constituted for the purpose of monitoring the augmentation of hotel accommodation in the National Capital Region of Delhi was held in late January. The review of the hotel projects coming up for the Commonwealth Games indicated that 7,307 rooms have been completed which is 70% of the overall 10,540 ‘definite’ rooms.

The performance of hotel projects of Haryana is commendable as 85% of the 6,766 ‘definite’ rooms have been already completed and efforts are being made to complete the balance rooms as early as possible. Several hotels in Haryana are in the process of receiving the completion certificate and are likely to be inaugurated in the coming few months. The hotel promoters are striving to complete the projects and operationalize the hotels by 31st March, 2010 in ordered to receive the benefits of the Five Year Tax Holiday announced by the Govt. for hotels coming up for the Games in the National Capital Region of Delhi.

The progress made by all the segments for the overall availability of rooms from the existing hotels, new hotel projects, licensed Guest Houses, Bed & Breakfast Establishment and DDA Housing Units located at Vasant Kunj was found to be satisfactory.

Secretary Tourism Shri Sujit Banerjee also undertook a site visit on 30.01.2010 of the surrounding areas of Paharganj which has clusters of Guest Houses and the road leading to the New Delhi Railway Station alongwith officials of various implementing agencies involved in the beautification / upgradation of the infrastructure viz. MCD, NDMC, Govt. of Delhi, Delhi Jal Board etc. He emphasized the need for improving the Chelmsford Road leading to New Delhi Railway Station from Connaught Place which is the leading road not only to the Railway Station but also the Guest Houses located in Paharganj area. Secretary (Tourism) also inaugurated one of the Information Kiosks named ‘Aap ke Dwar’ set up by MCD on Arakansha road and also saw the rotaries / parks constructed by MCD at Dayal Chowk. The work of MCD done for visibly impaired pedestrians by using yellow tiles on the side walks of Chitragupta Road was appreciated. The beautification works under the metroline at Dayal Chowk was also appreciated. The works being carried out for beautification / upgradation by the various implementing agencies is being reviewed and monitored regularly to ensure that time schedules are strictly observed so that the works are completed in time for the Games.

Games project displaces diplomats

New Delhi's preparations for the Commonwealth Games have forced a group of Pakistani diplomats to search for new homes after their residential enclave was earmarked for a new road project.

The state-owned Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said the houses of the four Pakistani envoys stood on an 11.2 acre (4.5 hectare) site occupied illegally by a private builder in the Indian capital's upscale Vasant Vihar diplomatic enclave.

Diplomats from Australia and the Ivory Coast also have to leave their homes after the DDA got control of the plot in August last year following a marathon legal tussle.

"There is a sense of loss," said Shah Zaman Khan, public affairs minister at the Pakistani embassy.

The leafy bungalows listed for demolition had been home to successive Pakistani diplomats posted in India since 1991.

"It was almost a Pakistan compound in India and now the four of us will be scattered across the city. Our families will miss this place terribly."

The road that will be built through the site is part of a massive infrastructure project aimed at preparing New Delhi for the Commonwealth Games in October.

Rights group say 100,000 homeless people in New Delhi have been kicked out of night shelters because of the city-wide facelift.

Pla(n)y 'virtual' Commonwealth Games..!!

If the tardiness of the organising committee of the Commonwealth Games 2010 in completing projects for the sporting extravaganza is frustrating you, take a virtual leap and do your bit.

Issues around preparations of Delhi Commonwealth Games (CWG) have caught imagination of gaming industry and now an online game is doing rounds where players can work diligently to finalize arrangements for the games

As preparations for the mega sporting event hit a feverish pitch, an online game has been launched, where players have to build roads, Metro network, hotels and even plan security for the event before the deadline to win.

Online gaming company http://www.koffii.com/ has developed a game 'Delhi Games 2010', where the player has to make the Commonwealth sporting meet a success.

The company is offering gamers a chance to become Suresh Kalmadi and head the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010.

Explaining the concept of the game, Vishwalok Nath, the brain behind the project, said, "In the game, Mike Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), is shown pulling up Suresh Kalmadi for failing to meet the deadline for Commonwealth Games' preparations. So the gamer becomes Kalmadi and tries to finish the project on time.

The task is to complete all the levels before Fennell to win the game. There are four levels in the game. In the first level, one has to construct roads. In the second level, the player has to finish the Metro network and in the third, hotels have to be readied. In the final level one has to make security arrangements."

And such has been its popularity that within few days of being launched, the gaming site has attracted many virtual gamers. "Most online gamers are excited to play this game as the Commonwealth Games is a prestige point for the nation and everyone wants it to be a success. However, we are also aware Mike Fennell has been questioning the preparations of the game," said Purav, a city-based gamer.

Commonwealth Games shooting range to open on 31-Jan

Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports informed that Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, Commonwealth Games Venue for shooting competitions, is set to open in the Capital on Sunday 31st January 2010.

Dr. M.S.Gill, Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, will dedicate the up graded and renovated shooting ranges to the nation.

Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range at Suraj Kund Road, New Delhi was built for 9th Asian Games 1982. The Range was named in the honor of Maharaja of erstwhile princely state of Bikaner, Dr Karni Singh who has been a legendary shooter in the Indian shooting circuit. A prodigy in shooting, Maharaja Karni Singh was conferred with the prestigious Arjuna award in 1961 for his impeccable shooting skills. He was also conferred with a silver medal at the 38th World Shooting Championship in 1962.

The construction work at the Range was started in October 2008 with a financial projection of Rs. 150 Crore and is completed in 14 months. All existing structures were demolished and completely new ranges with state-of-the-art technology have been constructed

FACILITIES CREATED AT NEW SHOOTING RANGE

• 10 M Centrally Air-conditioned indoor shooting range with 80 shooting points; seating capacity of 500 for pistol and small bore rifle.
• 25 M range with 50 shooting points for pistol ; seating capacity of 500.
• 50 M range, which is the largest, with 80 shooting points; seating capacity for 500.
• Six composite shotgun ranges for Trap & Skeet; total seating capacity of 2000.
• Newly constructed air-conditioned armory building; fitted with secured doors and other equipment for storing arms and ammunition.
• Shooting points equipped with LCD displays which will flash the scores
• State of the art Electronic Target & Scoring system supplied by Suis Ascor for rifle and pistol ranges and Laporte for trap & skeet ranges.

The newly built Range now provides a world-class sport venue for the Commonwealth Games Shooting competition, to be held in Delhi in October 2010 as it meets the requirement of Commonwealth Games Federation and the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF). The venue shall leave a legacy that provides a first class sporting venue for the citizens of our country participating in sport at local, national & International level. Before the main Commonwealth Games in October 2010, Commonwealth Shooting Championship will be held at these ranges from 17th Feb to 28th Feb 2010.

FEATURES OF NEW SHOOTING RANGE

• Green Campus spread over a vast area of 72 acres in the backdrop of Adilabad Fort.
• FOP (Field of play) of T & S ranges to have a backdrop of a majestic fort (Adilabad fort)
• All the ranges are equipped with lighting facility to provide 2200 Lux of light for high definition TV coverage.
• Minimum hard pavement provided to allow Maximum greenery. Over 1000 new trees planted.
• Building & structures complying with the requirements of International Sports Association in terms of geometry & strength.
• Seating design to achieve optimum sight lines.
• Automatic electronic scoring target systems recognized by ISSF for Olympics, World Cup & World Championship.
• Use of special Rubber wood in bullet catchers.
• Air-conditioned lounges of all ranges.
• Energy saving VRV system for air-conditioning.
• Use of natural lighting with heat resistant glazing system.
• Electricity through two different grids with 100% power back-up.
• External development in conformity with local undulating terrain.

Commonwealth Games Wrestling arena inaugurated

Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and IOA president Suresh Kalmadi today unveiled the first wrestling venue for this year's Commonwealth Games at the Ludlow Castle school here, and assured that the other work for the October 3-14 mega event would come up well before the time.

"We have completed the work for this stadium before time, the last venue decided for the games became the one to be fully prepared," Ms Dikshit said at the inauguration of the Ludlow Castle wrestling training venue.

"I congratulate Arora constructions for their superb work and made it possible on a short span. I am sure everything will be in place in time and I can ensure that the other venues will come up well before the games start." she told mediapersons.

India came under severe criticism after construction of several venues, including the athletes' village, fell behind schedule, forcing the postponement or shifting of many international meets planned as test events.

The Chief Minister admitted that completing the rest of the work in such a short period of time would be a tough job. "Now only eight months are left and we need to complete so much work, it would be tough."

The CWG Organising Committee chief further claimed that Delhi will host the Games more successfully than Manchester and Melbourne. "The Delhi Games would be better than Melbourne (2006) and Manchester (2002)."

The under-fire Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President, who has faced all-round criticism for delays in construction work at the Games' venues, said the success of the event would also reflect in India's performance. ''The success will help Delhi become a tourist attraction.'' He futher urged Delhiites to follow traffic rules so that the participants coming from abroad should not have bad impression about the capital city.

There is an athlete lounge, change rooms, sports equipments room, medical and physiotherapy, fitness and gym, cafeteria, conference room at ground floor of the Ludlow Castle wrestling venue.

In the first floor, there is a maple wood sports flooring to accomodate six wrestling mats (12X12m each). The building is centrally air conditioned. Elevated at a cost of Rs 13 crore is an amalgamation of granite and fabricated steel, the venue conforms to international standard.

PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, Education and Transport Minister Arvinder Singh and MLA Prahlad Singh Sahni were among others present in the occasion.

Delhi govt splurging on Commonwealth Games

The Delhi Government on Thursday took the bold step and decided to enhance its Plan outlay from Rs.10,000 crore to Rs.11,300 crore for 2010 Commonwealth Games. This is an increase of about US $300 million.

In revised estimates for the current financial year 2009-10 whereas the total budgetary provision for the current year has now been increased by Rs.2,717 crore from Rs.23,043 crore to Rs.25,760 crore.

This has ostensibly been done to ensure timely completion of all Commonwealth Games-related projects and to overcome any shortage of funds.

The decision to increase the outlay was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and attended by Finance Minister A. K. Walia, Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta, Principal Secretary (Finance) J.P. Singh and other senior officers of the Finance and Planning Departments.

Briefing the media, Dr. Walia said an amount of Rs.800 crore has been increased under the head of roads and bridges and it would be utilised for construction of flyovers and bridges and widening and improvement of roads, particularly those related to the Games.

The Minister said apart from enhancing its Plan outlay by Rs.1,300 crore from Rs.10,000 crore to Rs.11,300 crore in revised estimates for 2009-10, the Government has also increased its non-Plan outlay by Rs.1,408 crore.

With another Rs.9 crore being increased for the Centrally-sponsored projects, he said the total budgetary provision for the current year will go up by Rs.2,717 crore from Rs.23,043 crore to Rs.25,760 crore.

The Rs.1,300-crore increase in Plan outlay would be utilised for putting more money into the hands of the civic agencies and departments.

The Plan outlay for the Public Works Department has been increased from Rs.1,471 crore to Rs.1,975 crore and for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi from Rs.345 crore to Rs.635 crore.

The allocation for Delhi Transport Corporation has been increased from Rs.340 crore to Rs.619 crore to enable it to buy more buses.

The outlay of the Delhi Jal Board has also gone up by Rs.227 crore from Rs.1,365 to Rs.1,592 crore. All these departments have Games-related projects in their hands.

Sources said the Delhi Government would be raising this money from various quarters.
While it would get an additional Rs.1,000 crore for the Games from the Centre, Rs.1,000 crore would be raised through increase in small savings and Rs.500 crore would be given to the Delhi Government by the Centre as compensation for shortfall in VAT collections.