Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Bad BUSH - Good Bush! Hilarious!



Good bush - Bad BUSH!

The title says it all!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Yamuna's Woes - Commonwealth Games Village in Delhi




The 118 acre Commonwealth Games village is under construction on the floodplains of the Yamuna, in spite of warnings that the construction will endanger lives.

According to experts "Any construction, especially a multi-storey construction on the riverbed is an invitation to disaster. It is like a deathtrap."

The Yamuna has a history of flooding. It’s the floodplain that acts as a buffer and prevents flooding in populated areas. Construction there would also mean a reduction in groundwater levels, worsening Delhi's drinking water crisis.

Ecologist, MC Mehta informs, "The groundwater situation in Delhi is so critical that some of the blocks in Delhi have been declared as critical areas or dark spots. Saline water has also started coming in because there is no sweet water, so where is the water?"

Adding to that is the fact the Yamuna flood-plains also sit on a seismically active area. Manoj Mishra tells us, “There is a seismic map of Delhi. It's the river bed that sits on the fault line."

Experts say that suggestions for alternative sites such as the unused Safdarjung aerodrome or the already-standing Jasola Sports Complex have been ignored by the Delhi Government.

Hydrology expert, IIT Delhi, Prof AK Gosain says, "There are a lot of possible sites in and around Delhi. I don't think that the concerned authorities have really looked at any of those alternative proposals and sites. On the contrary, they have suggested that the most dangerous one on the floodplains of the Yamuna."

But Sheila Dixit rejects all criticism. She says, “Show me another city in the world, which has not developed its riverbanks. Development has to take place.”

The Commonwealth Games Federation now seems wary of Delhi Government's assurances.

CEO, Commonwealth Games Federation, Mike Hooper remarked, "We can only rely on the assurances that we are given. If those assurances subsequently proved to be inaccurate, they would be of concern."

Despite no approvals for constructing a games village on the site and with all the experts clearly pointing to how dangerous the construction can be, the government insists on continuing the construction work.

The games Village is going to be used only for the 2-4 weeks during the commonwealth games and after that it will continue to be a cement waste land causing un-told problems for Delhites.

Spanner in the works For Delhi Accommodation!


Not many days left for the Commonwealth Games is Delhi, yet there is no sign of any progress made at the Games Village site on the eastern side of the Yamuna.

A string of court cases and one controversy after another have slowed the pace of construction of residential and commercial units at the site. There hasn’t been any buzz about an alternative site.

After resolving a row with the Akshardham Temple authorities, who had objected to the upcoming construction on the two proposed sites adjacent to the shrine, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has now been up against the green buffs.
The environmentalists, under the banner of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan (YJA) of Magsaysay Award winner Rajinder Singh, had filed a writ petition in the court against the proposed Games Village.

The move has brought the project to a near-halt.

If the court rejects the DDA’s claims at the eleventh hour, there won’t be enough time left to shift to another site. To top it up, neither the DDA nor the planners have identified alternative sites.

Last month saw four hearings involving the DDA and YJA, with the fifth one coming up on Tuesday.

The DDA has other worries, too. On Monday, the infrastructure coordination committee will assess the state of work and there is not enough to show except for some piling work.


What about an alternative site? “Where is the time for that? Even if we identify a site today, it will take three months to publicise the land use change and another six months to acquire environmental clearance. Three more months will go into designing the new site plan. Can a Games Village be constructed in a year? The deadline to wrap up construction is December 2009,” he said.

Taking a dig at the environmentalists, the engineer asked, “Where were they when the Games Village site was decided in 2003? Why are they here four years later in 2007?’’
Environmental activists have pitched the protest tent near the site citing that the constructions would harm the fragile ecology of the Yamuna.

“Did the DDA do anything before October 2006? They went to the ministry of environment and forests for approval of the plan not before October last year. It was rejected outright in November and they were told in December to go for temporary structures if there was no other option,” YJA convenor Manoj Mishra said.

“No one knows what occurred between December 2006 and April 2007. Why did the environment ministry give in to pressure from the DDA and the urban development ministry and allowed construction of highrises on the river bed?” he asked.
A.K. Gosain, the IIT Delhi professor who is a member of the expert appraisal committee that rejected the site, said: “It violates the basic regulations of wetlands and floodplains.’’ Gosain has quit the committee.


So all is set for a major chaos for accommodation for the Commonwealth games in Delhi 2010.

India, especially the Delhi government has to wake up to the fact that they cannot construct anything in the vicinity of Yamuna - given its fragile eco-system.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Hotel promotion by Delhi Govt - is it an eye wash?

The Delhi tourism ministry is going to form a panel to suggest measures to increase the availability of hotel rooms before the 2010 Commonwealth Games,which will be held here.

Based on the report of the panel, the ministry will come out with schemes. The government is expecting one-lakh visitors at the games.

“The whole focus is to create additional accommodation in Delhi facilities and ensure that there is enough room for all. Besides, short supply has been driving up room rates, which we need to counter,” a senior tourism ministry official said.

At present, there are only about 11,000 rooms in star-category hotels in the National Capital Region, against the ministry’s estimate of 30,000 more rooms during the games.

The official said that going by the present trend, only 2,000 more rooms would be available.

The government has given a five-year tax holiday to two-, three- and four-star hotels and convention centres in Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad.

Besides, upgradation and renovation of existing hotel rooms will be done, the official said.

Attaching high priority to the safety of players and tourists, the government has decided to train 30,000 volunteers.

The ministry has also introduced a short training scheme to sensitise the youth.

The ministry has also requested the hotels to upgrade the infrastructure and be ready for the games, the official said, adding that the Haryana government is in the process of upgrading the tourism complexes run by its tourism department.



That all said, is the Govt. serious about the above or it is just guestimating the numbers. This year due to the THE BIG SQUEEZE or THE CREDIT CRUNCH - call it what you may - the number of tourists are down and travel industry is facing empty rooms in its peak season.

I think this will be a big humbug and the usual Govt. apathy will result in small businees owners losing out while the big GUNS like real estate tycoons with hoardes of money will benefit from the tax incentives.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Infrastructure renovation for Commonwealth Games in Delhi


Delhi govt. is introducing plenty of measures to look into the problem of accommodation in Delhi for Commonwealth games that is staring it into the eye, by making a number of changes to the Delhi skyline.


A new state-of-the-art Games Village is being built by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) with a focus on maximising athlete comfort. The village will be developed along the east bank of the River Yamuna. The site is off the National Highway 24 adjacent to the Akshardham temple at the Noida intersection.

Exceeding CGF requirements, the Village will translate traditional Indian hospitality into standards of comfort & excellence never seen before by participating teams. To be created at a cost of USD 230.7 million (including Residential Zone), the Games Village will be spread over an area of 63.5 hectare (158.4 acre).

Within its immediate vicinity exist internationally known monuments and landmarks like the Bahai Temple, Humayun’s Tomb, Akshardham Temple etc. Surrounded with a dense green natural cover, the Village will provide a relaxing and soothing environment for the athletes and officials.

Delhi govt. is also planning to increase the number of Bed and Breakfast Delhi, India - so as to provide a short term fix to the tourist influx that is expected to occur in 2010.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Preparing Delhi for Commonwealth Games

Although the games are just under three years away, India's capital is being reshaped as the city prepares for the biggest sporting event in its history. The Delhi government has begun putting up posters saying the capital will be transformed into a "world-class city" by the 2010 deadline.

There will be the new underground lines, lavish stadiums and even a hi-tech ambulance service that is guaranteed to get to people in 15 minutes. Most notable are the prestige projects meant to dispel most visitors' first impression that India is a country soaked in poverty.

Delhi's main railway station, which currently doubles as a home for the destitute, will be replaced by a 212-acre glass and steel structure.

The city's new seven-storey airport, designed to handle 50m passengers, aims to be open by 2010. The authorities also plan to ban 400,000 bicycle rickshaws, regularly seen pedalling across city flyovers, and order the remaining 100,000 to take a driving test.

However, campaigners say that the rush to modernise is bringing "unsuitable" development to many parts of the capital. Environmentalists highlight the case of the athletes' village, a luxury riverside development in Delhi, which is now being considered by the courts.

The banks of the river Yamuna, which runs through the capital, had been off-limits to developers. For almost 60 years only farmers were allowed to use the fertile banks to grow vegetables for local markets. However, last September work began on the complex, which consists of 1,100 luxury flats, tennis courts and swimming pools. The initial cost is estimated at 5 trillion rupees (£63m).

Environmentalists claim that when the Yamuna next bursts its banks the water will inundate residential areas further downstream.

"The land was leased to farmers and in the agreement there was a provision that the state could have it back for public purposes," said Manoj Mishra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, the non-governmental organisation taking Delhi city to court. "But what is the public purpose? The Commonwealth games runs for two weeks. What is the use after that? This is a predatory state in action taking land from the poor to hand to the rich."

The Delhi government has admitted that there were some concerns expressed by the "environmental agencies", but the project would go ahead.

Accommodation for Common Wealth Games is also giving Delhi Govt. a major headache, with dearth of quality accommodation in Delhi.

When India beat Canada in 2003 to win the right to host the Commonwealth Games, few of the capital's 15m people were ready for the upheaval. Slums have been demolished, shopping malls brought down and "greening measures" adopted. The facelift, including new roads and power plants, is estimated to cost the Indian taxpayer more than £10bn. The organising committee recently said that India might want to focus on preparing its athletes, rather than infrastructure.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Commonwealth games in Delhi, India

The 2010 Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held in Delhi, India between 3 October and 14 October 2010. With a population of over 15 million, Delhi is one of the largest cities in the world. This will be the largest multi-sport conducted to date in Delhi and India generally, which has previously hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Jawarhar Lal Nehru Stadium in Delhi, India.


The logo for the 2010 Commonwealth Games was revealed on 6 January 2008 at an event taking place at the India Gate. The logo is inspired by the Ashoka Chakra, a symbol of freedom, unity, and power. Its spiraling upwards symbolizes India's rise as a global power and its transition from tradition to modernity. The colours symbolize India's vibrant and diverse culture and people, and each part of the logo symbolizes India welcoming the 71 Commonwealth nations and territories.