Infrastructure development for 2010 Commonwealth Games - 3

Thyagraj Sports Complex is the competition venue for netball and training venue for Athletics for Commonwealth Games, Delhi 2010. The site is located on shri Gangnath Marg in Thyagraj Nagar. Multipurpose air conditioned stadium with required facilities for netball and synthetic athletic tracks with required facilities are proposed to be constructed .In addition there will be 5 lawn tennis courts .The stadium has a seating capacity for 6823 spectators





Source : http://www.skyscrapercity.com

Infrastructure development for 2010 Commonwealth Games - 2

R . K Khanna Tennis Stadium and others , construction and developments on full swing



Source : http://www.skyscrapercity.com

Infrastructure Development for 2010 Commonwealth Games - 1

I have got some recent pictures of the various construction and development work going on for 2010 Commonwealth Games, from http://www.skyscrapercity.com/. I didn't know from where the guys got these pics , but they are really nice and also show all the reality behind the scene. Enjoy!!

New Accommodations at Commonwealth Games Village

Seldom does one gets an opportunity to own a piece of sporting history, and if it’s the residential infrastructure readied to accommodate athletes at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Village in Delhi, the legacy only gets stronger. The city is witnessing a complete infrastructural makeover. Part of this makeover, is the prestigious Games Village being developed close to the Akshardham Temple in East Delhi.

Leading developer Emaar MGF won, as a part of Delhi Development Authority’s global tendering process, this Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative which will be one of the most superior residential developments of the capital. Strategically located, the Games Village is a few minutes away from the Central Business District (CBD), with excellent connectivity by way of an elevated road network and metro services. The development will house 1,168 ultra-modern premium apartments, spread over 27.17 acres, and will house more than 8,000 athletes and officials during the Games.

“The Commonwealth Games Village, one of the landmark projects for our group, is a certified green development in the city that adheres to the most stringent quality parameters. The development will incorporate the best international practices and standards not only from a design perspective, but include modern energy solutions, including solar power for common areas, VRV technology air-conditioning systems, apart from comprehensive security systems like video phones,” said an Emaar MGF official.

The village is spread over 34 towers and international architects & designer SRSS of Singapore is working on the project. It will have two to five bedrooms apartments with sizes ranging from 1,250 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft and prices starting from Rs 1.75 crores and going up to Rs 4 crores. All the towers will range from six to nine levels and the residential complex will have a two-level car parking and services facilities at the basement level.

With more than 73% greens and open spaces, the whole area will be landscaped with gardens, walkways and pathways. The complex will include ample leisure and recreational facilities such as a health club, community centre, and clubhouse as well as convenience retail space apart from specific children play areas and recreation facilities for senior citizens. The village will have sports facilities like tennis courts, half-court basketball, a 30-metre lap pool with recreation bay and a bubble pool.

Says Anuj Puri, chairman of Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj, “Apart from catapulting Delhi in the top league as a world-class city, this development will also help address the housing demand within the region. With construction on in full swing, the Village is making rapid progress towards the scheduled deadline of March 2010.

One of the key developments around this sporting event, the Games Village will be a defining example of superior Indian skills and capabilities. Once completed, the village will boast of 3.8 million sq ft built-up space housing the capital’s premier residential address.”

Officials Expressed Concerns over Games Preparations

I have posted on a topic about Delhi to learn from Chinese preparation model, in which I have quoted that some officials are visiting China to learn about their preparation of Olympic Games, which would help us in making better preparations for 2010 Commonwealth Games. Now when they have returned lets see what their opinion on the topic is:

Indian sports officials visiting Beijing to study the arrangements for the Olympic Games are having serious doubts about whether Delhi would be ready to host the Commonwealth Games by 2010.
‘‘It is not merely a question of infrastructure. It is the quality of organization. The manner in which the Olympics are being conducted makes me wonder if we can handle the job in 2010,’’ a senior official connected with the Commonwealth Games said, and added: ‘‘The Chinese are simply excellent in both allocating and implementing tasks. We work through committees with everyone escaping responsibility.’’
Visiting sports officials are expected to influence the decision-making process concerning the Commonwealth Games based on their experience in Beijing. But some of them worry that their feedback might be cast aside because it may hurt vested interests.
‘‘The Chinese have used existing infrastructure like the Workers’ Stadium and built new facilities as well. I am wondering if it was wise to reconstruct Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium instead of building a new one,’’ another official said. The official felt that there was very little time left for the Commonwealth Games to make major changes in design and layout and said ongoing work was already behind schedule.
‘‘Besides Beijing, the Olympic Games are being held in four co-host cities — Tianjin, Qingdao, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Why can’t we too involve other Indian cities instead of organizing all events in Delhi, which may not be able to handle the load?’’ an official said. This would also take visitors from abroad across the country and boost tourism, he added.
‘‘The Chinese seem to have planned meticulously right down to every minute detail. We are nowhere near them,’’ he said. Even the process of observing and learning from Beijing should have started much earlier, the official said.
The manner in which nearly 200,000 volunteers have been trained and mobilized is another lesson to be learnt for the 2010 Games in Delhi, an official observed. Volunteers are playing a key role in Beijing and helping develop a sense of nationalism connected to hosting of the Olympic Games. ‘‘A sense of nationalism is essential for any country not only to host such an event,’’ the official said.

Source: Times of India News Paper Delhi Edition

2010 Commonwealth Games Distance Map

This map intends to show the distances between different 2010 Commonwealth Games Sport Stadiums,where different games will be held and The Games Village .The distances are correct but the map is only picture representation and not to scale .
Click on the map to enlarge

Source : http://www.mapsofworld.com

Delhi to Learn from Chinese Preparation Model

Senior officials are visiting china to learn about the preparation for Beijing Olympics

Municipal Corporation of Delhi, populariliy known as MCD is sending around six of its senior officials to Beijing, China, to ‘study’ the preparations made by China for the Olympic Games. As 2010 Commonwealth Games has to be hosted in the city in 2010, Mayor Arti Mehra who visited Beijing and just returned India, said on Sunday that six senior officials, probably executive engineers would be sent to Beijing, china to study the model applied by the Chinese, which can help improve our preparations for the commonwealth game in 2010. But these officials would visit there only after the Olympic Games are over.

The civic agency would bear the traveling cost, which would be approximately Rs 3 lakhs, the accommodation would be provided by China, according to the mayor. As per official records, the civic agency has made no significant headway on ground with regard to most projects under it for Commonwealth Games. This track record notwithstanding, the Corporation now plans to send its officials to China to ‘learn lessons’ from the Chinese.
Mehra thrashed the officials and commented that they are giving importance to solving matters; instead they are much interested in blame-game.

According to the mayor “The beautification along roads, infrastructure development etc was impressive in Beijing and we should learn from them”. She has discussed with the MCD commissioner K S Mehra about sending a few MCD officials to Beijing and also to get in touch with the Chinese Olympic Association to take MCD officials around and show them preparations that were made during the Games. Since the Association is presently busy with the Olympics games, MCD officials will be sent only after the Beijing Olympic Games are over.

The return ticket to Beijing costs around Rs 45,000 and the MCD will give them a daily allowance of around Rs 1,600 or more.
Mehra said there is need to fast track projects to ensure that everything is in place by then. Mehra herself has been to Beijing as part of the “Observer Programme” which was conducted by the organizing committee of the 2010 Commonwealth Games with other senior government functionaries.

Commonwealth 2010 preparations moving on Snail’s Pace

Infrastructure development for Commonwealth Games 2010 is way behind schedule despite the fact that official permission for most projects was taken on October 31, 2005. According to sources, the reason for the snail’s pace on all projects is the delay in getting official clearance.

The civic agency, MCD, has received a whopping amount of 75.5 crores from Delhi government for its projects. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is supposed to construct 16 railway/ road over bridges and under bridges all across the city. However, work on 9 of them is yet to start as official clearance from the Railway Board is yet to come, according to works committee chairman Mahender Nagpal. They appear unlikely to be ready by 2010. The civic agency also needs to complete the 16 multi-level car parking sites before 2010, which have been in the pipeline since way back in 2004.

More AC buses to ply in Delhi

The Delhi Transport Corporation has done a new experiment by introducing new AC buses on the roads of Delhi and the response was over cheering. The new air-conditioned bus fleet has been proved to be a huge crowd puller. The senior government officials proposed that the number of buses should be doubled and the AC fleet has to be enhanced before the 2010 Commonwealth Games, in a review meeting which held a short before. The government has good plans to increase the proposed number of 1,250 AC buses to about 2,500 in a phased manner.
After the review which showed that the AC buses currently on road were a big hit with the citizens, senior government officials said that the total number of AC buses to be procured should be doubled.

The first lot of AC buses is running to packed capacity and the transport department is flooded with people’s requests from all parts of the city to run the buses in their areas.

The first order which was placed for 525 low-floor buses, there were just 25 buses supposed to be AC. Now the transport department is trying to see how the number of AC buses in the successive orders can be increased. Doing this could also mean a decrease in the non AC green buses.

Source : Times of India News Paper , Delhi Edition

Delhi University welcomes Youth Games baton

It’s the order of the hour what Honour, excitement, celebration and international acclaim. That’s what the Commonwealth Youth Games 2008 baton will bring to Delhi University as it passes through North Campus on Friday.
The baton will pass through 18 DU colleges as well as the campuses of Jamia Millia Islamia University and Jawaharlal Nehru University over two days. The relay will be flagged off from the north campus sports complex and chief minister Sheila Dikshit and several well-known sportspersons are expected to participate in the event on the first day.
While much in the way of festivities has been planned in the colleges, the issue of security has been a cause of concern. With the city under a heavy security blanket following the twin blasts at Bangalore and Ahmedabad, police are refusing to take any chances. “The red alert in the city has forced us to adopt all precautions, especially since a number of sportsmen and dignitaries are expected to visit the venues,” said a senior official associated with the event.
On Friday, there will be a live performance by Rabbi Shergil and Palash Sen at 11.30 am after which the baton relay will be flagged off at 12.30 pm. The baton will go to each college on the campus. It will halt at each for only five minutes during which five outstanding students or faculty members of the college will get to hold the baton. On Saturday, the baton will go to the south campus.
The Commonwealth Youth Games is being held for the third time and this year, 71 countries will be taking part in the extravaganza to be held in Pune in October. “DU is not the host for the baton relay, but only a venue. However, nothing like this has happened in DU before and students are excited about taking part in the relay. About 500 students have already turned up for rehearsals,” said Jitendra Naruka, director, sports, Delhi University.
While the students appeared excited, they also felt they did not have enough time to celebrate. “We wish we could have welcomed the baton in a big way in our college. But as we just have five minutes, only five of our international-level athletes will carry the baton,” said Meenakshi Ahuja, HOD, sports, Lady Shri Ram College. She added that about two minutes will also be spent in collecting water from every college, which will be put in the youth fountain being made in Pune. “All our students are excited as this would be a rare experience, but we have very little time,” said S R Arora, principal, Hans Raj College.
With the issue of security casting a shadow on the event, security agencies and police are leaving no stones unturned. “We will follow all anti-terrorism measures including securing all entry and exit points leading to the stadium. The bomb disposal squad will also scan the venue. The car parking has been organized opposite the School of Open Learning about a kilometer from the venue on the first day. Each visitor will be frisked,” said a senior police official. “We have already placed our men at the site from where the relay will be flagged off,” said Devesh Srivastava, DCP (North). Sources in the police said that the security agencies will secure all rooftops. Plain clothes policemen will also infiltrate hostels in order to sanitize them.

Source: Times of India News Paper, Delhi Edition