We've lost Commonwealth Games home advantage: Malhotra

NEW DELHI: Thanks to the inordinate delays in readying the stadiums for next year's Commonwealth Games, India has allowed its home advantage slip through fingers, alleged senior vice president of the Indian Olympic Association Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Malhotra lashed out at the Delhi government and the Centre for repeatedly pushing the deadline and said the repeated dragging of heel would hurt India's prospect when the Games takes place next year.

"We have lost the precious home advantage. The deadline last time was December this year but it has again been pushed back to March next year. There is simply not enough time for testing events," Malhotra said.

"In May-June, it will be too hot in Delhi and you have monsoon in June-July," explained the BJP leader.

"I don't understand what they mean when they say infrastructure would be ready in time. What do they mean by 'in time'? Does it mean a day before the opening ceremony?" he asked.

Malhotra also lashed out at the frequent inspection of venues by ministers, which he felt impedes work.

"The same people who are responsible for criminal negligence of things are trying to become hero. Every time they visit the venues for cheap publicity, they bring construction work to a halt. They should rather apologise for their acts of omission and commission and not hamper construction work," he said.

Malhotra, also president of the Archery Association of India, feared that the race against time might prompt the organisers to compromise on quality of infrastructure.

"I'm afraid that since we are running out of time, the contractors might put together a sub-standard piece of architecture. I remember everyone praising how we held the 1982 Asian Games. But within a month of the event, roof started coming off Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium while the sewage system at Nehru Stadium completely collapsed," Malhotra said.

The politician-cum-sports administrator has also written a letter to Sports Minister M S Gill, warning him that procurement of equipments for the Games may lead to large-scale corruption.

"The Sports Authority of India should avoid touts and middlemen and purchase all equipments directly from the manufacturers by floating global tenders. Besides, Comptroller and Auditor General should carry out expenditure audit as well as performance audit to ensure there is no trace of corruption in the whole process," Malhotra said.

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We've lost Commonwealth Games home advantage: Malhotra

NEW DELHI: Thanks to the inordinate delays in readying the stadiums for next year's Commonwealth Games, India has allowed its home advantage slip through fingers, alleged senior vice president of the Indian Olympic Association Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Malhotra lashed out at the Delhi government and the Centre for repeatedly pushing the deadline and said the repeated dragging of heel would hurt India's prospect when the Games takes place next year.

"We have lost the precious home advantage. The deadline last time was December this year but it has again been pushed back to March next year. There is simply not enough time for testing events," Malhotra said.

"In May-June, it will be too hot in Delhi and you have monsoon in June-July," explained the BJP leader.

"I don't understand what they mean when they say infrastructure would be ready in time. What do they mean by 'in time'? Does it mean a day before the opening ceremony?" he asked.

Malhotra also lashed out at the frequent inspection of venues by ministers, which he felt impedes work.

"The same people who are responsible for criminal negligence of things are trying to become hero. Every time they visit the venues for cheap publicity, they bring construction work to a halt. They should rather apologise for their acts of omission and commission and not hamper construction work," he said.

Malhotra, also president of the Archery Association of India, feared that the race against time might prompt the organisers to compromise on quality of infrastructure.

"I'm afraid that since we are running out of time, the contractors might put together a sub-standard piece of architecture. I remember everyone praising how we held the 1982 Asian Games. But within a month of the event, roof started coming off Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium while the sewage system at Nehru Stadium completely collapsed," Malhotra said.

The politician-cum-sports administrator has also written a letter to Sports Minister M S Gill, warning him that procurement of equipments for the Games may lead to large-scale corruption.

"The Sports Authority of India should avoid touts and middlemen and purchase all equipments directly from the manufacturers by floating global tenders. Besides, Comptroller and Auditor General should carry out expenditure audit as well as performance audit to ensure there is no trace of corruption in the whole process," Malhotra said.

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2010 Games get Rs 853cr hike and monitor

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Thursday agreed to more than double the dole for Commonwealth Games - from Rs 767 crore to Rs 1,620 crore - but not before sports minister M S Gill assured colleagues that the government would keep a close watch on how the money was spent by the Organizing Committee led by Suresh Kalmadi.

Gill, who had to fend off colleagues like road transport minister Kamal Nath and others, said a committee of officials would supervise the spending. The Organizing Committee so far had no government representative on it.

The entire assistance is supposed to be a loan which the Organizing Committee has promised to pay back from the proceeds of the mega sports event to be held in the Capital in October next year.

As part of the proposal cleared by the Cabinet, a financial sub-committee comprising the sports secretary, urban development secretary and an additional secretary of the finance ministry will be set up soon. All proposals of high value are to be cleared by the group before being taken to the executive board of the Organizing Committee.

I&B minister Ambika Soni told reporters that organizers hoped to earn Rs 1,708 crore from the event.

At a time when preparations for the mega event have been hit by controversies, delays and escalating cost, the new mechanism will ensure OC's financial accountability to the government which is pumping thousands of crores into the Games. Gill also briefed the Cabinet about the preparations for the Games.

Announcing the decision, I&B minister Soni said the enhancement in budget was to enable the Organizing Committee to meet escalating costs. The sports ministry said rising costs of opening and closing ceremonies, increase in the number of days for Queen's Baton Relay - from 136 to 240 for international leg and from 60 to 100 days for domestic leg - were among the reasons that forced the increased allocation. The relay will now cover all Commonwealth contries.

Inclusion of new items essential for successful delivery of the Games but not provided for in the initial budget of the OC, namely accreditation, city operations, sponsorship and TV rights, security, sustainability and environment and ticketing also led to higher costs.

Cost escalation in respect of accommodation, catering, protocol and CGF relations, rent for office of OC, communication, image and look technology, risk management, insurance and technical conduct of sports were also listed as reasons for the budgetary hike.

The Games build-up has been mired in controversies with the Commonwealth Games Federation expressing concern about the pace of preparations. Things took an ugly turn when Kalmadi asked for the transfer of CGF CEO Mike Hooper from Delhi, saying he was an impediment to the preparations.

The matter was resolved during the Queen's Baton Relay last month where Kalmadi and CGF chief Mike Fennell discussed the contentious issues and agreed to bury the hatchet.

Delhi is hosting the 19th Commonwealth Games in 17 sporting disciplines. Competitions will also be held for Elite Athletes with Disability (EAD).

Read more »

2010 Games get Rs 853cr hike and monitor

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Thursday agreed to more than double the dole for Commonwealth Games - from Rs 767 crore to Rs 1,620 crore - but not before sports minister M S Gill assured colleagues that the government would keep a close watch on how the money was spent by the Organizing Committee led by Suresh Kalmadi.

Gill, who had to fend off colleagues like road transport minister Kamal Nath and others, said a committee of officials would supervise the spending. The Organizing Committee so far had no government representative on it.

The entire assistance is supposed to be a loan which the Organizing Committee has promised to pay back from the proceeds of the mega sports event to be held in the Capital in October next year.

As part of the proposal cleared by the Cabinet, a financial sub-committee comprising the sports secretary, urban development secretary and an additional secretary of the finance ministry will be set up soon. All proposals of high value are to be cleared by the group before being taken to the executive board of the Organizing Committee.

I&B minister Ambika Soni told reporters that organizers hoped to earn Rs 1,708 crore from the event.

At a time when preparations for the mega event have been hit by controversies, delays and escalating cost, the new mechanism will ensure OC's financial accountability to the government which is pumping thousands of crores into the Games. Gill also briefed the Cabinet about the preparations for the Games.

Announcing the decision, I&B minister Soni said the enhancement in budget was to enable the Organizing Committee to meet escalating costs. The sports ministry said rising costs of opening and closing ceremonies, increase in the number of days for Queen's Baton Relay - from 136 to 240 for international leg and from 60 to 100 days for domestic leg - were among the reasons that forced the increased allocation. The relay will now cover all Commonwealth contries.

Inclusion of new items essential for successful delivery of the Games but not provided for in the initial budget of the OC, namely accreditation, city operations, sponsorship and TV rights, security, sustainability and environment and ticketing also led to higher costs.

Cost escalation in respect of accommodation, catering, protocol and CGF relations, rent for office of OC, communication, image and look technology, risk management, insurance and technical conduct of sports were also listed as reasons for the budgetary hike.

The Games build-up has been mired in controversies with the Commonwealth Games Federation expressing concern about the pace of preparations. Things took an ugly turn when Kalmadi asked for the transfer of CGF CEO Mike Hooper from Delhi, saying he was an impediment to the preparations.

The matter was resolved during the Queen's Baton Relay last month where Kalmadi and CGF chief Mike Fennell discussed the contentious issues and agreed to bury the hatchet.

Delhi is hosting the 19th Commonwealth Games in 17 sporting disciplines. Competitions will also be held for Elite Athletes with Disability (EAD).

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He is a competent actor: Amitabh Bachchan

Mumbai: For decades, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan have been the biggest entertainers of the Indian film industry as both enjoy envious popularity not only in India, but across the globe. On SRK's 44th birthday, the iconic Amitabh Bachchan, who has seen SRK's rise to stardom and his attainment of the larger than life King Khan stature, agreed to share his experiences of working with the energetic actor.

"I have told him on many an occasion that I liked him immensely in Swades and in portions of Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. In the former, it was his effortless ease that was impressive; in the latter, the competence with which he was able to bring positivity to an otherwise somewhat negative character," Big B told DNA in an exclusive interview about SRK, his co-star in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Mohabbatein, and Bhoothnath.

"Everyone who has worked with me is special for me -- and for the project that I work in. Shah Rukh and I have worked on several projects together and he, like all others, has been special in them. It would be wrong of me to put one up against another. There is a relaxed intensity about him on set. He is well prepared, as all should be, and a considerate colleague."

And what does the legend think is SRK's biggest strength? "His biggest strength is that he is a competent actor. With that as your basic quality, it is not difficult to overcome any challenge that may come to test him," he adds.

Amitabh himself has entertained generations for over 40 years now, a career span that has seen close to 180 movies. Ask him if he has any advice for SRK, who is set to complete 20 years in Bollywood, and Bachchan says, "I am least qualified to give any advice. What he is doing now is sufficient to sustain him and his career, since he already has accomplished the feat, if it can be called that, of entertaining generations."

Read more »

He is a competent actor: Amitabh Bachchan

Mumbai: For decades, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan have been the biggest entertainers of the Indian film industry as both enjoy envious popularity not only in India, but across the globe. On SRK's 44th birthday, the iconic Amitabh Bachchan, who has seen SRK's rise to stardom and his attainment of the larger than life King Khan stature, agreed to share his experiences of working with the energetic actor.

"I have told him on many an occasion that I liked him immensely in Swades and in portions of Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. In the former, it was his effortless ease that was impressive; in the latter, the competence with which he was able to bring positivity to an otherwise somewhat negative character," Big B told DNA in an exclusive interview about SRK, his co-star in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Mohabbatein, and Bhoothnath.

"Everyone who has worked with me is special for me -- and for the project that I work in. Shah Rukh and I have worked on several projects together and he, like all others, has been special in them. It would be wrong of me to put one up against another. There is a relaxed intensity about him on set. He is well prepared, as all should be, and a considerate colleague."

And what does the legend think is SRK's biggest strength? "His biggest strength is that he is a competent actor. With that as your basic quality, it is not difficult to overcome any challenge that may come to test him," he adds.

Amitabh himself has entertained generations for over 40 years now, a career span that has seen close to 180 movies. Ask him if he has any advice for SRK, who is set to complete 20 years in Bollywood, and Bachchan says, "I am least qualified to give any advice. What he is doing now is sufficient to sustain him and his career, since he already has accomplished the feat, if it can be called that, of entertaining generations."

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Fire yet to die, two more bodies found

Rescue workers removing a charred body discovered on Sunday, three days after the blaze started at IOC depot near Jaipur.

JAIPUR: Two more bodies of victims were recovered at the burning Indian Oil Corporation depot at Sitapura Industrial Area near here on Sunday, taking the toll in the industrial disaster to 10, even as the fire continued to rage in five of the 11 vertical fuel storage tanks for the fourth consecutive day.

Rescue workers, who spotted the two charred bodies near one of the blazing tanks on Sunday morning, could not immediately retrieve them because of the heat.

The bodies, which were removed later in the day, are believed to be those of the IOC employees who have been missing since the fire began on Thursday.

The IOC authorities expect the inferno to die out in another 24 to 48 hours with most of the petrol, diesel and kerosene stockpiled in the tanks having been exhausted in the fire.

Among the five tanks still burning, two were showing signs of subsiding and thick black plumes of smoke were billowing out of them.

Firemen extinguished the flames spreading to the roof of a private electronic and instruments company situated 200 metres from the boundary wall of the IOC storage facility.

Smoke, concentrated in the sky, has started descending on the Sitapura Industrial Area, Pratap Nagar residential colony and the villages situated nearby, making breathing difficult for the people and causing itching in the eyes. Thousands of residents in a radius of 5 km from the site have been evacuated after the district administration declared it a danger zone.

The Rajasthan Government has appointed two committees to assess the damage to the industrial units and the nearby villages.

One of the committees will assess the damage caused by the fire to different units in terms of building, plant, machinery and raw material and submit its report in seven days.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, after visiting the site, said the committees’ recommendations would be taken into account while preparing new master plans for the cities: “The depots stockpiling petrol and inflammable material have to be far away from the residential localities. Commercial activities in the residential areas are a serious cause for concern.”

State Principal Home Secretary Pradeep Sen has also given instructions for ensuring security of the terminals of Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited as well as the liquefied petroleum gas plant of Indane situated in Sitapura Industrial Area.

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