UK intelligence team to provide inputs to Delhi

Amid concerns over possible terror threat to mega sporting events in the country, a special squad of London Police will visit India for three days beginning February 10 to share its expertise in securing venues ahead of the hockey World Cup and Commonwealth Games

Though there is no `specific threat' to either hockey World Cup or Commonwealth Games (CWG), the London Police team will visit stadiums and interact with the organisers, Delhi Police and home ministry officials.

Sources in the home ministry said the security experts from London would be briefed about steps being taken to have foolproof security of players and officers of the participating foreign teams. They will also be taken to the places where players will be lodged, they added.

Around 400 players and delegates will be in the capital for the tournament, which is to be held between February 28 and March 13.

Other mega sporting events which are lined up include Commonwealth Shooting Championship from February 17 to 28, IPL cricket matches to be held between March 13 and April 25 in different cities across the country.

Later this year, more than 8000 players will take part in Delhi Common Wealth Games in Oct.

Commonwealth Games vehicles to be tagged by RFID

TagMaster, a Swedish technology company has got order from Delhi government to tag all vehicles servicing Commonwealth Games to be tagged by RFID solutions.

The RFID solution will ensure tracking OF vehicles around the venues and will provide intelligence to security apparatus regarding movement of participants and event co-ordinators.

TagMaster, the leading producer of advanced RFID solutions for long range identification, has received an order for a Vehicle Access Control in India related to the Commonwealth Games 2010 held in October this year. The installation will control the access of vehicles to and from the arenas and other sites in the Delhi area related to the Commonwealth Games 2010 for security and protection purposes.

TagMaster's Indian distributor Pepperl-Fuchs (India) Pvt. Ltd. will assist in the implementation of this governmentally controlled installation. Standard TagMaster long range readers and ID-tags are used providing true hands free vehicle identification of high reliability. The installation will be used in controlling the authenticity of buses and other vehicles passing in and out of a number of sites in and around New Delhi during the sports event.

TagMaster has already made a number of installations in India. This order is to be regarded, due to both its size, the governmental presence but also the technical demands put forward in this project, as yet another confirmation that TagMaster products are outstanding in the market today” says Bo Tiderman, CEO, TagMaster AB.

CWG impact: 22 cr budget for street scraping

Looking to beautify the surroundings and have good roads around Commonwealth Games venues across the city, the Delhi government today cleared a proposal worth Rs 22 crore for undertaking street-scaping works.

(Read about Delhi's budget for 2010)

The proposal was cleared today in an Expenditure Finance Committee meeting presided over by Delhi finance minister A K Walia.

Talking to reporters after the meeting here, Walia said the MCD will undertake street-scaping of roads around the games venues for which an amount of Rs 21.95 crore has been sanctioned.

The work of street-scaping on Jagannath Marg and Lodi Road will cost Rs 3.40 crore and Rs 18.55 crore respectively.

The street-scaping works will also be undertaken around Thyagraj Stadium, Nehru stadium, Siri Fort Sports complex, RK Khanna Lawn Tennis stadium, Dr. Karni Singh stadium, Yamuna Sports complex and important sections of the Ring Road, the Minister added.

"The agencies concerned have been asked to implement all basic ingredients of the project with due care and commitment as the facilities to be developed would become a permanent feature in the Capital," Walia said.

Kids working at construction sites..!!!

While the preparations for Commonwealth Games are reaching feverish pitch and results becoming apparent, a new report has come out highlighting that Children as young as 5 years old are working on Commonweamth Games venues.

This has put the government on back foot and have raised questions regarding the manner in which human rights are being flouted. Preliminary investigations reveal that government may not have to do anything with it, and contractors may be happy to allow children of workers to do small jobs. This though keeps children in front of their parents eyes, is a clear violation of basic rights of a child.

Children are slaving away at work on building sites in New Delhi as the Indian capital struggles to get ready for this year's Commonwealth Games.

Struggling to hold up shovels, which are as tall as they are, the children have been seen working on drainage contstruction sites in front of the $1.8 billion Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, where the opening and closing ceremonies for the Games and the athletics events will be held.

The sheer scale of the construction has drawn an enormous population of migrant workers from all over India. And now it seems children have been drafted in to get the stadium and its surrounding area finished on time.

Some have argued that children are not working but are playing around construction material. However, it is still disappointing picture of apathy of Indian government and lack of focus on safety of people.

Last week, the High Court of Delhi has sought a response from the Government over the alleged failure to provide all the benefits of labour laws to workers involved in construction work for the Games, with workers being paid below the minimum wage while being forced to live and work in sub-standard conditions.

The Commonwealth Games Federation has repeatedly expressed concern about the slow pace of work for the Games, which will involve 8,000 athletes.

Federation president Mike Fennell in December said he was distressed by a report by the CGF evaluation commission that two major venues, the Nehru stadium and the swimming arena, would not be ready until June, barely three months before the opening ceremony. In fact, not a single venue has been completed.

The CGF report cited problems ranging from ticketing and transport to accreditation and accommodation, amid reports that only 10,000 of the 40,000 hotel rooms expected to be needed are available.

A separate Indian Government report found construction work on 13 out of the 19 sports venues was behind schedule.