|
|
|
The remodeled, 60,000 capacity Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
for October's Commonwealth Games
|
|
Logo for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games being recognised as the first
ever "Green Commonwealth Games" |
|
Commonwealth Games 2010
The Commonwealth Games 2010 are scheduled to be held in
Delhi between 3 October and 14 October 2010. The opening ceremony is scheduled to take
place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi. Existing and new stadiums in Delhi will be used to house the sports
during the Games. The opening and closing ceremonies, athletics, lawn bowls, and
weightlifting will take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, which will have a capacity of
75,000 spectators after renovation for the games. The remodelled stadium, built at a cost of
Rs. 960 crore. Sports Minister M S Gill
said that it was a complex engineering structure and the first of its kind in India..
Archery, cycling, gymnastics, and wrestling will take place at the
Indira Gandhi Arena , the largest indoor sports arena in India and the second-largest in Asia, which seats 25,000
people. There are 26 new stadiums which will be utilised for the Commonwealth
Games. Some older ones will be upgraded and some new will be constructed.
Logo for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games being recognised as the first
ever "Green Commonwealth Games" . The organisers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the
United Nations Environment Programme to show the intention to host a
"sustainable games" and to take the environment into consideration when constructing and renovating venues.
Commonwealth Games 2010 committee
Commonwealth Games Federation
president is Mike Fennell. Jarnail Singh, a former Secretary of the Government of India,
was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and Indian Olympic Association
president Suresh Kalmadi was appointed as head of the Commonwealth Games 2010 committee.
Commonwealth Games 2010
Infrastructure
The total budget estimated for hosting the Games is US$ 1.6 billion and
this amount excludes non-sports-related infrastructure development in the city like airports, roads and other structures. This will likely
make the 2010 Commonwealth Games the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever, being larger than the previous games in Melbourne 2006.
India would also provide US$ 100,000 to each participating country, along with air tickets, boarding, lodging and transport. .
Delhi proposed a four-lane, 2.2 km underground stretch from Lodhi Road
to trans-Yamuna, linking the Games Village to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Construction of road under-bridges and over-bridges along railway lines
are in progress. To expand road infrastructure, flyovers, cloverleaf flyovers, and bridges have been
planned to improve links for the Games and city in general. Road-widening projects have begun with an emphasis being placed on expanding national highways.
The Delhi Metro will be expanded to accommodate more people and boost the use of public transport during the 2010 games. At
420 km long, it will be one of the world's longest networks and it will
extend to Gurgaon and the Noida area.
Indira Gandhi International Airport is being modernised, expanded, and upgraded. Costing nearly US$ 1.94 billion, Terminal 3
will improve airport passenger capacity to more than 37 million passengers a year by
2010. A new runway is being constructed, allowing for over 75 flights an
hour and – at over 4400 metres long – it will be one of Asia's longest.
The airport will be connected to the city via a six-lane expressway and the $580 million Delhi Airport Metro Express
Commonwealth Games 2010 Preparation
Delhi government is implementing a program to teach English, and the
necessary skills for serving tourists to key workers as cab drivers, security workers, waiters, porters, and service
staff. The government is undertaking a large power-production initiative to
increase power production to 7,000 MW (from the current 4,500 MW).
The government will offer free accommodation for all athletes at the Games Village, as well as free transport and
other benefits, such as a free trip to the famed Taj Mahal
Games Village
The Games Village will house over 8,000 athletes and officials for the Games.
Indian states will train state police forces to handle tourist-related issues and deploy them prior to the Games |
|
|
|
Controversies
A number of environmental controversies
arose and the adverse ecological impact of various aspects of the games
have been protested by city residents. The Commonwealth Games village, located on the flood plains of the
River Yamuna (यमुना), has also been the subject of controversies flouting of
ecological norms.
A massive construction and "beautification" project has resulted in the
demolition of hundreds of homes and the displacement of city dwellers –at least 100,000 of New Delhi’s 160,000 homeless people have removed
from shelters, some of which have been demolished. Bamboo screens have been erected around city slums to separate visitors from the sights of the
slums a practice which human rights campaigners have deemed dishonest and immoral.
Critisism
On July 27, 2010 Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Mani Shankar Aiyar, said
he would be unhappy if the Commonwealth Games were a success and that only evil will patronise
them. He also critizised the money being spent for the Oct mega-event. "Thousands of crores are being spent on circuses like these while the
common children are being deprived of basic facilities to play," he said.
On July 29, 2010 after giving controversial remarks on Commonwealth Games,
former sports minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said that, he will speak about Commonwealth Games only after Oct 15, when the event gets
over, as he has been asked to keep mum on the issue..
The budget for holding the Games was initially pegged at `345 crore, but has now swelled to some
`35,000 crore, forcing many people to question the decision to go for it.
Corruption
The Delhi Games were hit by a major scam after the British Government raised questions about a substantial sum of money which was transferred
to A M Films, a little known UK company from the Games Organising Committee
(OC). Reports claimed that over 4.50 lakh pounds were transferred through a
British bank to the company, which was also said to be receiving 25,000 pounds a month for costume designing.
Sports Minister M S Gill on July 31, 2010 promised to take "prompt and appropriate" against
corruption cases in the Commonwealth Games and said all deals related to the sporting extravaganza should be
be tabled in Parliament. Gill said that if any irregularities related to
October 3-14 mega event were brought to his Ministry's notice, it would
deal with it seriously and swiftly. "Anything that needs to be looked at must be looked at and it will
continue even after the Games. I believe that we must put forward everything before the Parliament and the people," he told reporters here.
Anil Khanna resigned as treasurer, the pivotal money controller, of the
Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CWGOC) August 5, 2010 in the wake of
allegations that his son's firm secured contract for laying synthetic
courts at R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium, one of the venues for the Oct 3-14
Games.Khanna is the secretary-general of the All India Tennis Association
(AITA), the owner of the stadium.
Corruption charges
Suresh Kalmadi's claim of innocence is largely based on the fact that
bulk of expenditure on the Commonwealth Games was made by Central or
Delhi govt agencies like MCD, DDA, PWD, CPWD. Rocked by allegations, CGOC suspended Suresh Kalmadi aide Darbari,
Mohindroo and Jeychandren and also terminated a contract with an Aussie company.
Income Tax (I-T) investigation has started probing vendors and
contractors involved in supply of goods and execution of works for Commonwealth Games stadiums.
The CGOC was thrown in a tizzy as treasurer Anil Khanna resigned in the wake of revelations that the contract for laying the artificial tennis
turf was given to a company whose Indian distribution is headed by his son.
With allegations of corruption plaguing the Commonwealth Games, Congress
President Sonia Gandhi on August 19, 2010 said those found guilty will be
punished after the event. Terming the Commonwealth Games as a matter of
national pride, she said the Games were not related to any political
party or individual. "It was a matter of national pride and efforts should be
made to hold them successfully." At the same time, she said that those found guilty of corruption in
works related to the Games should be punished after the event. |
|
|
|
Estimated Revenue through CWG-2010
The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee has agreed to reimburse
Government from revenues generated by ticket sales, sponsorship, advertising
etc, for the moneys made available to the Organising Committee. This was stated by Dr. M.S. Gill, Union Minister of Youth
Affairs & Sports in the Rajya Sabha on July 29, 2010, in a written reply to a question by Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar.
The Minister of Sports further stated that the expected revenue
generation as estimated by the Organizing Committee (OC) is Rs. 1,708
crore. The total estimated expenditure to be incurred by the Organizing
Committee (OC) on the Conduct of the Commonwealth Games ? 2010 including
Overlays, Timing, Scoring, Result System and Games Time Sports Equipment
is Rs.2394 crore. The net expenditure to be incurred by the Government
will be clear, only after actual figure of revenue generation are known and final settlement of accounts takes place.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had estimated, in 2003, an expenditure
of Rs.655 crore for organising the Commonwealth Games, 2010. The present
estimates for organising the Commonwealth Games, 2010 have been reflected at Rs.11,494
crore, which includes, apart from expenditure of Sports Infrastructure and Conduct of the Games, also expenditure on
Security, Broadcasting, Telecommunication, Training of Sportspersons, allocation to Govt. of Delhi etc., the Minister said.
Mosquito breeding in many of the stadiums
On August 23, 2010: Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said mosquitoes
breeding at unfinished Commonwealth Games venues was one of the reasons behind the spread of
Dengu and Malaria
in Delhi. "Dengue and water is strongly related. Delhi is already dug up because
of the Games and it is also raining heavily. Since water remains accumulated in many places, it becomes a breeding ground for
mosquitoes," he said.
The Yamuna levels might be receding as on September 2, 2010, but they have created
new pools of concern. Stagnant water has accumulated near the Commonwealth Games village which unless drained quickly, could end up spawning mosquitoes even as some 24 countries have written seeking information on
the dengue situation. The spread of dengue in Delhi is becoming an international concern ahead of the Games and the Organizing Committee
is being asked by participating nations about measures being adopted to
check dengue before athletes and delegates begin arriving for the mega sporting event.
The city has reported more than 1,000 cases of dengue this season and
more than Rs 11 crore has been spent to control it. "The government will
release more funds, say over another Rs 10 crore for containing the disease," the sources said.
Commonwealth Games organisers are now facing negative publicity not only at home but also in the foreign media over the dengue
fever outbreak in the capital and the slow pace of work on projects.
The extensive coverage in the foreign media, including in leading newspapers like 'The Financial Times' and 'The Sydney Morning Herald',
is likely to add to the woes of the Games organisers who are already
facing heat back home due to allegations of scams and incomplete projects.
Overriding powers to a new committee
On Saturday, the prime minister gave overriding powers to a committee
headed by the cabinet secretary to oversee functioning of the Organising
Committee. GoM was also empowered to take all necessary decisions for the smooth conduct of the sporting event and refer any matter that may
require consideration To insulate Congress from attack over corruption in the
Commonwealth Games preparations, PM Manmohan Singh is expected to promise Parliament firm action against the guilty.
The crisis-riden CWG has received a further jolt with two power PSUs, NTPC and PowerGrid, deciding to hold back their Rs 40 crore
sponsorship money out of a combined committed sum of Rs 60 crore for the
event. Central Bank of India has already contributed Rs 50 crore to the Games,
while the Indian Railways made a budgetary provision of Rs 100 crore but
was reported to be rethinking its stand after reports of Australian sports marketing firm SMAM receiving commissions.
Brand ambassadors for Commonwealth Games 2010
Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee on July 27, 2010 announced
the names of six brand ambassadors for the 2010 Delhi Games to be held
later this year in October. Badminton sensation Saina Nehwal, Olympic Bronze medalist and wrestler
Sushil Kumar, lone Indian Olympic gold medal winner Abhinav Bindra, ace
shooter Samresh Jung, Olympic bronze medalist pugilist Vijender Kumar
and the women boxer MC Mary Kom have been named as the brand ambassadors of the October 3-14 event.
Saina Nehwal
Abhinav Bindra |
|
|
|
