Anju Bobby George not participating in CW Games

India’s medal chances in athletics at the Commonwealth Games in October received a blow on Friday with ace long jumper Anju Bobby George pulling out of the mega event.

The former World No.4, who has not competed since the Beijing Olympics, told here that she will be skipping the whole of 2010 and hopes to return to action early next year. “I wanted to take part and win before my fans in Delhi. But I won’t be able to compete due to personal reasons and I have already informed the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) officials,” Anju said without revealing the details.

Asked if fans would be able to see her back in action again, as a comeback from a two-and-a-half-year sabbatical is difficult, Anju was very confident about her return. “No way I am quitting the sport as I still feel I can compete in one more Olympics. I’ll try and be ready for the London Games in 2012. And If I compete there, I’ll surely not go as a spectator. I’m sure with all my experience and with the help of Bobby (husband and coach), I can make a comeback,” the 32-year-old Customs officer added.

Anju first hogged the limelight winning the bronze medal in the CWG in 2002 and then in the Busan Asian Games where she clinched the gold. The next year she created history in Paris becoming the first Indian to win a medal (bronze) in the World Athletics championship. In 2005, Anju was again basking in glory after winning the silver in the World Athletics final, an achievement rated by many as the high point of her career.

However, Anju’s best performance came in the Athens Olympics when she led the field in the first round after touching down at 6.83 meters. In the end, the Indian couldn’t improve further and settled for the sixth place.

Now a Savior for ill trees in Delhi

Over one lakh trees in the heart of the Capital now have a tree ambulance to tend to them. The ambulance facility, launched by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), was inaugurated by chief minister Shiela Dikshit yesterday on 5th of february.

About 10,000 of the one-lakh odd trees in NDMC areas are classified as avenue trees, which form an integral part of Delhi’s natural heritage. In addition, these trees serve as important environmental and ecological reserves. ‘‘Most of these trees were planted during the development of New Delhi as a city in the early part of the 20th century. All the avenue trees are indigenous trees of Delhi region,’’ said an NDMC official.

The trees require proper care and attention. ‘‘We carry out regular trimming and removal of decayed branches of all trees to give them a healthy life. The ambulance will aid such activities,’’ the official added. The tree ambulance is fitted with water tanks with a 5.5 thousand liter capacity, equipments like chain saw, tree pruner, sprayer, ladder and water pumps. The vehicles, which have warning lights and sirens, have come up at a cost of Rs 1.4 lakh.

The ambulance will have a six member team, called plant protection cell, who will be imparted a one-month training by the Forest Research Institute of India, Dehradun. If a tree is found infected or diseased, it will be treated with pesticide sprays. Said an official: ‘‘If any part of the tree is found to be decaying, that part will be removed and the cavity will be filled. Sixty members of the horticulture department will be trained for this.’’

Speaking on the occasion, Dikshit said: ‘‘Other civic bodies should follow suit. We will try getting more funding for such ambulances under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).’’ A survey carried out by Forest Research Institute, Dehradun revealed that there are several ‘sick’ trees in NDMC areas, which can be salvaged with proper treatment. The idea of a tree ambulance was devised to treat these trees.

DDMA set up Disaster cells ahead of Games

Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has moved one step ahead to set up a disaster cell months before CWG.

The Commonwealth Games may be some months away but the Delhi disaster management authority (DDMA) has already started making arrangements. The DDMA is setting up a 24-hour control room in all its nine districts, with a central control room that is already operational. The idea is to groom a crack team of volunteers who can manage any disaster situation, said sources.

The east district was one of the first to start its control room from earlier this month, running 24x7. The control room will work in three regular shifts of eight hours each and will be operated by two civil defense volunteers.

‘‘The purpose of the control room is simple. With it, we will be able to fulfill various objectives like reduction in response time, strengthening of the incident command system as well as increase in co-ordination and communication at the sub-divisional level,’’ added the source.

DTC Top Guns to Monitor Their Services Periodically

For once, the babus are going to get a taste of their own medicine. In a novel initiative, the DTC brass will commute to work and back in their own buses on two designated days every month. The idea is for them to travel in buses to understand first hand the problems faced by regular commuters and initiate corrective action accordingly.

The corporation has made it compulsory for all senior officials to take a DTC bus to work on the second and last Monday of the month. The officials, including DTC chairman and managing director Naresh Kumar, will not use their staff cars on those days. ‘‘We have now got better buses but there are certain operational problems. Maintenance of buses is another issue. When all officials involved in the decision-making process at DTC travel in buses on a regular basis, the quality of service will automatically improve,’’ said a senior DTC official.

The decision is going to impact more than 200 officials who have been given staff cars by the government. Before the Commonwealth Games in October this year, DTC is striving to better its image and services. The corporation is going to get about 3,125 new low-floor buses. Bus shelters are also being given a facelift. But there have been regular complaints from commuters about the reliability and efficiency of buses and staff. Buses don’t follow timetables, run behind schedule and don’t stop at designated bus stops.

A slew of other measures are also being planned to improve service, like creating a dedicated fleet of buses to be run only on school routes. The decision was taken after it was observed that some DTC buses which had been put on school routes tended to withdraw from service earlier than scheduled, leaving their routes midway. At present, about 1,300 DTC buses ferry students of nearly 700 city schools.

DTC has also started imparting driving and behavior training to its drivers on simulators at Automobile Association of Upper India

250 sleek bus Q-shelters to come up near CWG venues

Aesthetic and sleek bus Q-shelters will soon dot the routes in and around Commonwealth Games venues with the Delhi Cabinet today approving construction of at least 250 such structures ahead of the mega sports event in October.

"DIMTS will take up construction of 250 modern bus Q-shelters on PPP basis on the same model as adopted in NDMC area and further take up construction of 800 more at the lowest rates received through open tenders," Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit told reporters after the Cabinet meeting here.

The total cost of construction is expected to be around Rs 96 crore, for which a request is being made to the Urban Development Ministry for sanctioning at least half the amount out of Delhi Development Fund.

Due to non availability of low floor buses Govt allowed Semi low-floor buses

At a time when the government is expediting the Blueline phase-out process and ordering removal of all Blueline from south Delhi from next month, Delhites can expect relief on ground too. The government, on Wednesday, took a decision to allow semi-low floor and standard floor buses on city routes. This, in effect, means that the first cluster of the corporatization scheme which was initiated as a replacement of Blueline will get operational before the Commonwealth Games.

Even though the cluster had been awarded to a private operator last year, there was no certainty on when the buses would start plying as the only two manufacturers supplying low floor buses in the country are anyway stretched with the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) order for 3,125 low floor buses. The government’s decision now gives the operator the choice of bringing in semi-low floor buses on the new routes, which match the specifications cleared by the Centre for buses being procured under the JNNURM scheme, for Delhi as well.

To ensure comfort and riding quality, the government has put a clause that DTC can only get low floor buses.

‘‘As per the final transportation plan for Delhi, DTC will run 60 percent of buses on all routes. We have taken a decision that the DTC fleet will only have low-floor buses. But the private corporate running buses on the 16 clusters can now bring in semi-low floor buses too,’’ said transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely. ‘

The rest of the parameters like GPS, control rooms, etc will remain the same. The semi-low floor buses cost much lesser too making the running of clusters more lucrative for private players.

Lovely added that the first cluster will now get operational before the Commonwealth Games, which essentially means that south Delhi will have an additional 300-odd buses plying on the roads. The government is in the process of allotting the other 15 clusters too.

Meanwhile, chief minister Shiela Dikshit announced on Wednesday that Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) will take up construction of 250 modern bus shelters on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, like the one adopted by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and of another 800 bus shelters through a tendering process at a total cost of Rs 96 crore.

The government has put in a request with the Union Ministry of Urban Development to sanction at least half the amount from the Delhi Development Fund. The new bus shelters will come up on routes leading to Commonwealth Games venues.

Karni Singh shooting venue for CWG Inaugurated

The second Commonwealth Games venue Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range was inaugurated on Sunday. The venue has been upgraded and renovated with an investment of Rs 150 crore in 13 months.

All the existing structures were demolished and new ranges with state-of-the-art technology were constructed. The earlier separate ranges for trap and skeet were converted into new composite ranges for trap and skeet with state-of-the-art scoring equipment. Before the Games in October, the Commonwealth Shooting Championship will be held at these ranges from February 17-28.

The renovated range spread over 72 acres in the backdrop of Adilabad Fort will have centrally air-conditioned indoor shooting range with 80 shooting points and a seating capacity of 500.

A new Flying Club at Mahendragarh, Haryana

Delhi might not have a fully operational flying club any longer but if you’re willing to drive about a 100 km out of town, you will find a brand new aero sports club in Mahendragarh, Haryana.

On Sunday, while paragliding, parasailing, skydiving and hot-air ballooning took place all around him, Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced the opening of the Rajiv Gandhi National Centre for Aero Sports at Bachhaud air strip near Narnaul, Mahendragarh. The centre will work towards giving youngsters a platform from which to understand the science of aviation, and also to get up close and personal with the more adventurous side of aviation.

Captain Satish Sharma, chairman of the Aero Club of India, stood side by side with the CM as the aero centre was declared open.

The centre, named after late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been set up by the Department of Civil Aviation, Haryana, in collaboration with the Aero Club of India. The centre will be developed along international lines and, it is hoped, will help give a fillip to India’s participation at world aero sports events. Up to now our participation in such events has been woefully limited.

Sanction has already been given for the purchase of an ultra-modern, multi-engine simulator at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore to help better training facilities at Karnal. It has also been proposed that a flying training academy be set up in the state. In addition, air strips at Pinjore, Narnaul, Hisar and Bhiwani will be further developed.

The centre, it is planned, will provide cheap training and facilities to the people who cannot afford it by charging more from the people who can afford it and who dabble in aero sports as a hobby.

On Sunday too, everybody was invited for a dekho. All you had to do was look up at the sky and daredevil performances of skydiving, paragliding, parasailing, hotair ballooning and aero-modelling enthralled everybody who had come to take a look. The star of the show was 17-year-old village girl Monu, who took everyone’s breath away with a very courageous display of parasailing. The class XII girl was later given a special Rs 51,000 grant for her performance.

Addressing the people who had gathered on Sunday, Hooda said the underlying idea behind setting up the centre was to get youth from the state trained in adventurous aero sports.

In the beginning, the youth will be imparted training in parajumping, parasailing, gliding, hot-air ballooning and micro-light flying at the centre, he said, adding that more adventurous sports would be added to the teaching list later.

The Chief Minister pointed out that three Civil Aviation Department centres were functioning at Karnal, Pinjore and Hisar, which had been training youth from the state to serve with air services both inside the country and outside.

More facilities would be provided for the air strips at Pinjore, Narnaul, Hisar and Bhiwani, he added. The Chief Minister announced a grant of Rs 1 crore each for the development of Mirzapur and Bachhaud villages, which have provided the land for the centre. It was also announced that a road would soon be constructed to link the centre with National Highway-8.
Captain Satish Sharma, Member of Parliament and president, Aero Club of India, said a hangar would soon be built at the aero sports centre.

In a hit & run case Laborer dies at Metro site

A 25-year-old man originally from Sundergarh in Orissa died at a Metro construction site on Sunday evening after a portion of the crane he was standing under fell on him. ‘‘An iron plate fell on the deceased Vipin as he was busy working right under it. Vipin was rushed to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. We have registered a case of negligence against the contractor and are investigating the case,’’ said DCP (west) Sharad Aggarwal.

The Metro authorities, however, claimed that it was a hit-and-run incident. ‘‘The laborer was trying to cross the road when he was hit by an unidentified vehicle. He died on the spot,’’ said a DMRC spokesperson.

The incident took place near Paschim Vihar in west Delhi around 7pm on Sunday. ‘‘The victim has been identified as a laborer who had joined works just a couple of months ago. He was taken to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital where he was declared brought dead,’’ said the investigating officer. In another incident, unidentified armed robbers struck a Metro construction site here and decamped with electric goods and scrap worth lakhs of rupees after taking security guard into hostage, police said on Sunday.

The incident was reported from the construction site in N-Block Sarita Vihar. The robbers took away 22 KV tower material and 50 kg scrap from the site. They came in a tempo and when they tried to enter the site, a guard tried to resist but was threatened by them. The material which was robbed includes electric poles to be erected on Metro route. Police have recorded the statement of the guard and officers and probing the matter.

Shooters hire coach with own expenses

The men’s hockey team showed the way a few weeks ago and the women followed in their footsteps. Now, the shooters have got officialdom in their sights and are proving that where there is a will, there is indeed a way.

The latest message, this time to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), comes from six top pistol shooters who’ve hired a foreign coach to train them at the national camp. With NRAI unable to recruit a coach to replace Hungarian Czaba Gyorik who left after the Beijing Olympics, the shooters have availed of the services of a top coach, with each spending around Rs 50,000 a month.

‘‘How long should we wait? The authorities can take their own time but the competition dates won’t change. Now, we’re spending from our pockets to pay renowned coach Anatoli Poddubni of Ukraine for his expertise,’’ Samaresh Jung, nicknamed ‘Goldfinger’ for his medal haul in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, told

New coach hired for 6 months

After having suffered without a coach for 18 months, pistol shooters Samresh Jung, Ronak Pandit, Amanpreet Singh, Heena Sidhu, Ruchit Kapadia and Upasana Parasrampuria have hired their own coach, Anatoli Poddubni of Ukraine, and training under him. Poddubni, who coached the Soviets to world domination and has earlier worked with Pandit, has been roped in for a six-month term.

‘‘With NRAI unable to find a coach, I was planning to get him (Poddubni) back. When I discussed this with other shooters, they agreed. With the help of the Mumbai Suburban District Rifle Association (MSDRA), we managed to get him. We pay him approximately $2500-3,000 a month. Plus, we have to meet other expenses, including boarding and lodging,’’ Ronak, son of renowned shooter and president of MSDRA, Ashok Pandit, said. Incidentally, MSDRA helped the foreigner get a work permit.

Jung said he had not been shooting great scores since the Beijing Games as he was struggling without proper guidance. ‘‘I was not making much headway and was planning to go abroad to train when Ronak came up with this idea. It’s great to have such an experienced coach who has helped the likes of Moscow Olympic gold medallist Aleksandr Melentiev,’’ Jung said.

‘‘The Army has two coaches to train its shooters but there is no coach for the national squad which forced us to act,” Jung added, explaining the plight of civilian shooters. Interestingly, NRAI is now trying hard to recruit Melentiev to fill the vacant pistol coach’s slot. Knowing the pace at which files move between federations and government departments, the other shooters should be prepared to wait for weeks before the new coach arrives in India.

National shooting coach Sunny Thomas confirmed that NRAI decided to bring in Melentiev. ‘‘We expect to finalize Melentiev’s appointment at the next meeting of the CWG steering committee in February,’’ Thomas said.