Delhi eyes Games gains / Civic bodies to submit plans in a month

Delhi eyes Games gains

(Hindustan Times)

Amitabh Shukla

New Delhi, October 21

Delhi is likely to follow the Athens Olympics model while preparing for Commonwealth Games 2010.

This will mean suitable infrastructure if the city bids for the Olympics either in 2016 or 2020, Delhi government officials said on Wednesday.

Chief Secretary S. Regunathan who had gone to Athens during the Olympics has submitted a detailed report to the Lt. Governor. And in the first meeting of the government's core committee for the Games, top officials from the Transport Department, PWD, MCD, DJB, DDA were asked to work out a preliminary plan for the event. Chairing the meeting, the chief secretary asked them to come up with specific projects and the finance needed. These will form inputs for the detailed plan of action.

The changes needed include upgradation of the transport system, an elevated Ring Road and new hotels. Officials said the DDA would soon advertise for land to construct 2 to 4 star hotels.

The government will also ask the Airports Authority of India to upgrade its aircraft handling capacity and the Northern Railway for better facilities at railway stations

Civic bodies to submit plans in a month

(Asian Age)

By Rabin Sharma

New Delhi, Oct. 20: The groundwork for the 2010 Commonwealth Games have begun. The Delhi government has asked various agencies in the capital to submit within a month a draft plan pertaining to the city’s civic requirements to cope with the games and the finance required to do so.

The core committee on the Commonwealth Games met for the first time on Wednesday. The meeting, which was attended by officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Jal Board and other agencies, was chaired by Delhi chief secretary S. Regunathan.

"In the backdrop of the Commonwealth Games, the concerned departments have been asked to make an assessment of the pressure on basic amenities like water and power that the games will have on the capital. The estimates of the requirement along with the fund needed to meet them has to be drafted and submitted within 30 days," said an official, after the meeting.

With transport being one of the focus areas for the games, the civic agencies will devise ways to integrate the various transport services in the city with the existing and future centres for the games, said the official. Associated tasks of road up-gradation, road engineering, and road furniture will also be drafted. The draft estimates will further facilitate in appointing consultants as required, to begin preparations for the games in all seriousness, he added.

The games will also put additional pressure on the airports and railway stations in the capital. Therefore, the agencies will also suggest measures on expanding the services in both these spheres which would apparently mean inclusion of new facilities. The need for more hotels in the city is being felt for the games and the DDA will take action on the issue shortly. It will advertise for hotel sites which primarily includes budget hotels like two and three stars, said the official.

Mr Regunathan, after his visit to the recently-concluded Olympics in Athens, had prepared a detailed report in keeping with the requirements of Delhi to host the 2010 games. The report had also proposed the creation of the core committee.