Volunteer Program Relaunched for 2010 Games

For more information and applying online visit: http://www.cwgdelhi2010.org/delhiunited

Haryana Announces Bread & Basket Scheme

Even as the hotel industry expressed its inability to provide the required number to rooms to accommodate visitors during the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Haryana government announced that the bed and breakfast scheme would be implemented in Gurgaon. Under the scheme, house owners will be able to rent out their premises to tourists coming for the Games.

Gurgaon deputy commissioner Rajender Kataria said, “It takes a long time to build a hotel and so the Central government, after a survey, approved some 25 houses in Gurgaon that could be converted into guesthouses.” He said the registration and other processes had been simplified and the issue of security would be addressed.

“The hotel industry is also facing a financial crunch and the real estate market is in a virtual slump. The bed and breakfast scheme seems to be the only viable alternative. Other services like restaurants, conference rooms, etc are also being looked into,” Kataria added.

Under the scheme, house owners can rent out a maximum of five rooms with complimentary services like power backup, Wi-Fi, air-conditioning and 24X7 security among others. “Once approved, the state government will market the facility online,” said Kataria.

“Two kinds of licenses will be issued to house owners — silver and gold. Both have different criteria, payment slots,” Kataria said.

UK Broadcaster SIS to broadcast 2010 Games India Live in HDTV format

The much awaited 2010 Commonwealth Games in India will be broadcasted by SIS Live (Satellite Information Service) as the public broadcaster Doordarshan has awarded the important contract to cover the 2010 Commonwealth Games to the British company SIS Live.

To make certain better image resolution for the first time in India, Europe’s leading Outside Broadcast (OB) and uplink supplier, SIS will provide the production and coverage facilities and services to cover the 2010 Commonwealth Games which will be held in New Delhi. SIS Live will use High Definition TV (HD TV) for the first time in the past record of Commonwealth Games.

Broadcaster Doordarshan (DD), a subsidiary of Prasar Bharati, is the host broadcaster for the Games which will be held in New Delhi from 3-14 October 2010.

After a thorough tender process, Aruna Sharma (Director General of Doordarshan and Prasar Bharati) said that they have tied up with SIS Live to cover 2010 Commonwealth Games. The Games’ contract to SIS Live is valued at $500 million, according to industry sources.

Further Arun Sharma said, “SIS Live would provide all production facilities and personnel to cover 17 different sports across 12 venues in Delhi, as well as the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies.” Moreover, SIS will also provide coverage of the Queen’s Baton Relay, which will make a 340-day, 120,000-mile journey across all the Commonwealth countries and territories, ending in New Delhi at the beginning of the Games on October 3, 2010.

Sharma added that SIS Live will also provide foreign commentators for the Commonwealth Games, though DD will arrange Hindi and other regional languages commentators for the domestic viewers.

SIS Live is supplying more than 1,000 highly-skilled technical and production staff at the 12 venues, assisted by 300 DD staff, which will be trained by SIS’ technicians.

Estimated expenditure for 2010 CWG a bulging 10,555 crore Rupees

India will spend an estimated Rs 10,555 crore in hosting next year's Commonwealth Games, the government said on Tuesday. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Pratik Prakashbapu Patil said that the Organizing Committee would also generate revenue of around Rs 1,708 crore from ticketing, broadcasting, sponsorship, licensed merchandise and donations.

Patil, however, admitted that there have been instances of delays in a few projects, but assured that a 'recovery schedule' has been put in place to complete all the works, including the venues, well before the October 3-14 Games.

The CWG OC has already drawn flak from different quarters for the tardy preparation of quadrennial sporting extravaganza to be held here. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, venue of both the inaugural and closing ceremonies, besides track and field events, would be ready by mid-February next year, while the works in the Games Village would be over by the end of March.

Sports Minister MS Gill, replying to another question, said international delegates, who recently visited the venues in the capital, were happy with the preparations.

"General Assembly of the Commonwealth Games Federation was held from October 4-13 in Delhi. The delegates, observers and other eminent sportsperson who attended the General Assembly and other meetings have expressed satisfaction over the preparedness," Gill said.

"Preparedness is being closely monitored at all levels. Works at the sports infrastructure projects are progressing at rapid pace and they will be completed in time for the Games," he said.

Delhi Metro to Carry 1 billion riders in 7yrs

Delhi Metro, which is fast becoming capital’s lifeline as its network expands, has ferried over one billion passengers, which is about the population of the entire country. The MRTS system is on expansion mode before the Commonwealth Games and new lines are going to be opened now every other month taking the Metro to south Delhi, east Delhi, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Airport.

‘‘With the massive expansion in the last seven years, the number of people who have availed Delhi Metro services till date touched a record 1,014,955,894 on Thursday,’’ said a DMRC spokesperson.

On November 24, Delhi Metro recorded its highest-ever ridership during the India International Trade Fair (IITF) when about 10.29 lakh commuters used the services on a single day. As ridership are far exceeding DMRC’s own projects — over 1 lakh commuters are using the Noida line on date as against the projection of about 53,000 commuters for 2012, the
problem of crowding in trains is becoming more and more acute.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials say that new trains are coming, and from now, a new train will be inducted into the system every fortnight. Already, DMRC has got about 17 train sets of four coaches each for broad gauge and another 10 trains for standard gauge. The total order is for 131 trains which will all be delivered before 2010 end.

Delhi Metro began its journey on December 25, 2002 on a small 8.5 km stretch between Shahdara and Tis Hazari. The initial daily ridership was just about 35,000 passengers. At present, the network is about 90 km long and this will increase further as more lines get commissioned for Phase II, which is nearing completion. The average daily ridership stands at about nine lakh passengers daily.

By the year end Delhi Metro to traverse Vikas Marg

By year-end, the Yamuna Bank-Anand Vihar line will become operational and will change the way residents of east Delhi colonies travel

East Delhi residents have a reason to cheer. With the Delhi Metro’s Noida line already operational, the corporation is gearing up to open the Yamuna Bank-Anand Vihar stretch by the year end. The construction of the 6.17 km long line which is expected to ferry over 1 lakh commuters daily, is complete but more trains need to come in before it can be opened for public.

The line passes through heavily built-up Vikas Marg, which is lined with residential colonies and institutional areas. The main road itself carries over 1.5 lakh vehicles daily and about 3.7 kms of the Metro line passes through these areas. For all these commuters, the opening of the new line will bring respite to scores of commuters who have been braving traffic snarls on Vikas Marg. DMRC has already removed all the barricades and work on resurfacing the main road and making new footpaths and central verge has begun. The main road is now wider than it was as nearly 3 metres has been added to its width now.

Engineers working on Vikas Marg told TOI that constructing the stretch has been a major challenge. ‘‘All the construction has taken place only between 11 pm and 6 am as Vikas Marg is a very busy stretch. Further, the mishap at Laxmi Nagar in which a launcher collapsed, also caused further delay,’’ said a DMRC spokesperson.

To tackle the heavy pedestrian movement, all the elevated Metro stations will double-up as foot-overbridges. Parking facilities are available at Karkardooma station and also Anand Vihar.

The station at Karkardooma is located off the road and is going to double up as a mall too. In fact, the station is the first Delhi Metro station to have green spaces inside. The facade is made of spider glazing and structural glazing to give it a corporate look and there is going to be landscaping inside the station premises for aesthetics.

DMRC has constructed two of the longest spans of Phase II of 70 m each over the Karkardooma flyover. The height of the platform, on the third floor, is about 19m — the highest platform in Delhi Metro. The station has 5 floors — basement, ground, first floor, concourse and platform.

The last stop at Anand Vihar will have a railway station and an ISBT in the same complex for better integration between the modes. The daily station load forecast for the Anand Vihar Metro station is almost 2.5 lakh for 2011.

The line branches out from Yamuna Depot station and crosses five stations to reach the one at Anand Vihar border, before the metro continues its journey into Ghaziabad.

The line in figures

Delhi Metro | Yamuna Bank to Anand Vihar

Length | 6.17 km No of stations | 5 Stoppages | Laxmi Nagar, Nirman Vihar, Preet Vihar, Karkardooma, Anand Vihar

No of on-road stations | 3 Ridership | 1.03L daily by 2012

Problem area | 3.2 km (ITO Chungi to Karkari more)

Traffic volume | 1,25,000

Passenger Car Units (12hr) Maxi Height | 19 m (over Karkari more flyover)

Date of completion | Dec 2009 Cost | Rs 210 cr

Parking | At Karkardooma & Anand Vihar stations

DTC starts running on new route

Yamuna Mudrika flagged off, 40 new low-floor buses in DTC fleet

In a bid to provide better connectivity to residents of east Delhi, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) flagged off a new Yamuna Mudrika route to connect trans-Yamuna areas to the Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) at Kashmere Gate from Friday.

The buses on this route will run via ISBT Kashmere Gate (Nityanand Marg), New Yamuna Bridge, Shastri Park Metro Depot, New Usman Pur, Pushta Road (Yamuna Marginal Bandh Marg), Khajoori Khas, Main Wazirabad Road, Yamuna Vihar, Nand Nagri Depot, Gagan Cinema Crossing Road No.68, Tahir Pur DLF Plaza Dilshad Garden Extn., Seemapuri Depot, Shahdara Border, Surya Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Pusta Road, Ramesh Park, Krishan Kunj, Gandhi Nagar (Pusta), Kailash Nagar Pusta, Bulland Masjid, Old Bridge Road, Dharam Pura, Shastri Park, New Yamuna Bridge and ISBT Kashmere Gate.

Flagging off the service, transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said: ‘‘To start with, 16 low-floor buses are being deployed on the 36 km-long route where services will be available at a frequency of 15 minutes in both (+) and (- ) directions — clockwise and anti-clockwise. The new route provides connectivity to east Delhi, where one-third of Delhi’s population resides. In fact, several areas on the route are such where no buses were available until now.’’

Meanwhile, 40 new low-floor buses, part of the first lot manufactured by Ashok Leyland, has been inducted in DTCs fleet. The total number of DTC buses is now 3,717 buses — 860 low floor-buses (including 85 AC buses) — and another 2,857 old buses, and 83 diesel buses run on interstate routes. ‘‘To promote public transport, the government is going to strengthen the DTC increasing its fleet to 7,000 by October 2010 and the supplies for the order of 3,125 low floor buses has already started. About 300 new buses will be added to Delhi roads every month now,’’ he added.

July 2010 cut-off for flyover near Village

It’s A Key Project For Commonwealth Games

With less than a year to go for the Commonwealth Games, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) seems to be in a hurry to finish its projects. As part of the Games Village project, it is working overtime on the flyover set to come up in front of the Village. The flyover, said DDA sources, is scheduled to be complete in July 2010.

Incidentally, the flyover has been built for the Village’s entry/exit point to provide a clear passage for the athletes. However, the project had received a lot of flak as the flyover to be built on NH-21 from the bus bay on the main road near the Village to 200m from the foot of the flyover towards the river side of Yamuna was seen as avoidable. Experts had claimed that the flyover wasn’t needed for the volume of traffic that would be generated during the ‘‘short’’ duration of the Games and that better traffic management would solve the problem. However, the project was later cleared, as the need for a dedicated passageway was felt for smooth movement of athletes.

Approval from DUAC, meanwhile, is still awaited. Sources at the agency said that a site visit last month had generated suggestions for some changes, which are still to be filed. Admitted KT Ravindran, DUAC chief, ‘‘The approval is yet to be given, though Commonwealth Games projects are being cleared as early as possible.’’

The good news for commuters on NH-24 facing the detour around the Village is that the road will be cleared up soon. DDA sources claimed the flyover was expected to be completed by June-July 2010, along with the Village construction. Said a senior DDA official, ‘‘The flyover, which includes the bund road along the NH-24 from NOIDA More, is one of the two projects that were specifically started for the Games. We are also building the cloverleaf to NOIDA more flyover.’’ The project, which was originally costing over Rs 25 crore, however, doesn’t include a FOB, a demand that had been made at one point of the project. Added the official, ‘‘The flyover is expected to take the load from the Village, which otherwise would have spilled over to NH-24. Diversions would have had to be made for dedicated passage of the athletes to the various venues, which now will be done through the flyover.’’

Interestingly, the DDA is also in the process of building the noise barrier around the Village to cut down on the noise from the nearby railway track.

AT A GLANCE

Flyover: On NH-24 from bus bay (near Village entrance) towards existing Noida More flyover to 200m from the foot of flyover towards Yamuna riverside Expected to be completed around the same time as the Village, in July 2010 A cycle track is also expected below on the carriageway It will provide a dedicated passageway for athletes during the Games

Travel Industry Hopeful of 10% growth during 2010 Games

Today's one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai not only proves to be turning point for a city that remains defiant in the face of terror, but also for India's tourism.

The industry is hoping to achieve a 10 per cent growth next year after a $1.3 billion drop in tourism revenues in the second quarter of 2009, compared to the same period a year earlier.

"Travel from the Middle East to India recorded a meager five per cent growth at the end of this year's second quarter, compared to nearly double the growth for the same period in 2008," said Waseem Rahmany, Senior Manager, Sales and Marketing, Al Rais Travel.

"However, the end of Q3 saw summer travel provide a much-needed boost to the tourism industry, which bridged the gap between revenue generated in 2008 and 2009 for the period."

Kuoni Travel Group India CEO and Managing Director, Zubin Karkaria, reiterated the sentiment, saying: "In the first quarter of 2009, travel to India from the Middle East took a nose dive; however, nearly 80 per cent of that lost market share was regained by the end of Q3."

He said: "The outlook for travel from this region to India next year is quite positive, with leisure and corporate travel indicating an upswing of nearly 10 per cent growth."

In order to stimulate inbound traffic for 2010, Indian Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said last week at the World Travel Market that a number of initiatives and events have been put in place to reach this goal, including special packages for the World Commonwealth Games in Delhi, which is expected to attract up to 100,000 people in October next year.

"We are already in the initial stages of planning extended holidays into India for those travelers who are flying down to attend the Games," Shakir Kantawala, General Manager of Jet Airways, Dubai and Northern Emirates, told Emirates Business. "We are positive it will turn out to be a huge draw for tourists."

Karkaria said: "Our team has already started working on creating special packages for the Commonwealth Games, which will be rolled out to international travel agencies by January 2010."

As one of the largest tour operators in India, with a turnover of Rs22.29bn in 2008 alone, the company is also in the business of offering wholesale packages to international travel agencies around the world.

India's tourism woes began in Q3 last year, when the full impact of the global recession reared its ugly head. Adding to that was the terrorist attack on Mumbai's iconic hotels, Taj and Trident, along with Leopold Café - a popular hangout with foreign tourists.

Statistics revealed a sharp fall in foreign tourists in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, which persisted well into this year.

In the December following the tragic events, arrivals fell 12.5 per cent on the previous year - a heavy toll for hoteliers in the middle of the peak season for foreign tourists.

The latest available figures by the country's tourism board indicate that 2.4 million foreigners visited India in the January-September period - down 3.3 per cent on the same period in 2008. However, independent studies reveal a grimmer picture of nearly an eight per cent decline in tourism.

A recent report by global consultancy HVS Hospitality Services described the financial year 2008-09 as "an unforgettable one for the Indian tourism" with an overall decline in occupancy and revenue per available room (RevPAR).

"Mumbai reported the largest RevPAR decline of 20.1 per cent for 2008-09 amongst the major cities in India," stated the October report titled Hotels in India - Trends and Opportunities.

Revenue per room in Mumbai hotels fell to Rs6, 513 from Rs8, 155 a year earlier.

"This was due to the Mumbai terror attacks. The event raised concerns in the minds of international travelers regarding India's worthiness as a safe and secure travel destination," the report said.

Occupancy rates were at 60.9 per cent in 2008-2009, down 18.4 per cent on the previous year.

Nationally, tourism contributed 6.1 per cent to India's GDP - down 0.7 per cent on 2007-08.

"In the aftermath of the attacks in Mumbai, it was predictable that tourism in India took a beating and was in need of an image makeover," said Kantawala. "Our way to deal with the crisis was to partner with India Tourism Board and use the media to our advantage."

Through Jet Airways' Visit India initiative, the airline flew media down on familiarization trips to those very cities and hotels that had suffered from attacks of terrorism.

Kantawala said: "We flew media to Mumbai, put them up in the Taj and Trident hotels, and took others to Delhi and Jaipur to show everyone that India knows how to bounce back."

However, by the second quarter of 2009 the H1N1 pandemic had spread its tentacles into India, providing yet another setback for the tourism industry.

"The Swine flu scare was even more lethal than the attacks on Mumbai," said Al Rais' Rahmany. "Almost 30 to 40 per cent of our business comes through the summer travel. But this year's panic brought that percentage down by nearly 10 points."

Rahmany, however, believes the worst for India's tourism sector is finally behind us. "Christmas and New Year travel to India is regaining momentum, with flights to the metros almost booked out, along with airfares increasing with high demand," he said.

According to figures released by the Indian Tourism Board, tourist arrivals are expected to rise again, around December. However, 2009's Q4 forecast of 4.8 million tourists is still down from the 5.5 million recorded in 2008.

Next year's 10 per cent growth in tourism is inevitable, say industry sources, with the government even developing 150 rural sites to generate more revenue. "I am quite bullish on India next year and its increased presence at global travel and trade fairs are a step in the right direction," said Karkaria.

Guernsey takes up games baton

THE Queen’s Baton for the 2010 Commonwealth Games is in Guernsey.

Having so far been taken around the UK and Jersey, on Wednesday the baton will go to Gibraltar. By the time it arrives in India in June it will have been taken to 71 jurisdictions.

Its journey around India will end in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium ready for the start of the games on 3 October.

It was escorted into the island by a team of three.

‘We have enjoyed Jersey,’ said Delhi 2010 organization committee representative Avny Lavasa.
‘Now we are looking forward to seeing Guernsey.’

A member of the team will be with the baton at all times. It is transported in a padlocked case.
Miss Lavasa said it was not too hard to keep up with the baton.

‘There were a lot of running relays in Jersey, but it was still good fun,’ she said.

‘Nobody has dropped it so far. It is robust, but we hope no one will drop it.’

Guernsey Commonwealth Games Association representative Deputy Peter Sirett said there would be a lot going on over the next three days.

‘It’s visiting four primary schools and a few sporting events,’ he said.

‘It will also be on display. We want to try and give everyone the chance to see it.’

The baton will be taken to St Martin’s, Forest, Vauvert and Castel schools as well as Government House. It will be on display at Beau Sejour today from 3.45-4.30pm.