New Delhi, September 30
The 80,000-strong Delhi police may be in the state of maximum alert to secure the Commonwealth Games from terrorists, but criminals could only feel happier about it.With thousands of cops on Games duty, investigation into crimes has taken a backseat.

When a businessman of Pitampura, who was robbed of Rs 12 lakh a week back, asked the investigation officer at the Maurya Enclave police station about the progress of his case, he was politely told to wait till the Games. The officer said he was on duty at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and would take up the investigation only after the Games, the trader said.

The businessman is not alone in his suffering.

"After the Games" is the familiar excuse that crime victims are these days hearing in police stations, especially the ones in the five police districts under which all the 11 stadia and the Games Village are located.

According to a senior Delhi police official, with thousands of policemen (exact figures not available) withdrawn from all the 155 police stations in the Capital for Games duty, some police stations are managing with just 50 to 30 per cent staff.

For example, several police stations in the east district which has the Games Village and Yamuna Sports Complex are facing shortage of men even for the basic duties.

"We had strength of 98 men, but about 70 of them have gone for Games-related duties. Left with just 28 men, we now find it hard to find even duty officer, guard, record-keeper, arms-keeper, computer operator etc. We can only spare about eight to ten men for normal field duties," said an assistant sub-inspector posted at the Vivek Vihar police station.

Similarly, the south district, which has most of the Games venues like the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Thyagraja Sports Complex, R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium and Siri Fort Sports Complex, has engaged 60 per cent of the policemen from the 15 police stations falling in the district for CWG.

According to a police official at the Fatehpur Beri police station, out of their 140 men, 70 have been sent for Games duties and even the remaining are indirectly busy with the security issues.

"I accept that normal investigation can suffer in such circumstances, but no such hampering is being allowed in important cases. Besides, it is just a matter of 10 to 14 days. Games is a priority as of now," said an ACP from the district.

New Delhi, September 30
The Commonwealth Games fervour has failed to influence the municipal school students, said MCD leaders, complaining that these students have been left out of the extravaganza.

The MCD leaders say that none of the municipal school students have been called to take part in the cultural programmes of the CWG. Even Shera, the mascot of the Games, has not yet visited any MCD school.

"Our students are not being involved at any level," said Mahender Nagpal, chairman, education committee, MCD.

He said it would have been a morale-booster for the students to perform for international athletes.

Nagpal complained even Shera is visiting only the big schools, showing an indifferent attitude towards the municipal schools which cater to lower sections of the society.

The students from different schools across the city like Mount St Mary, Air Force Bal Bharti and Delhi Public School are regularly showcasing cultural and traditional song and dance performances at the Games Village for international athletes and delegates. The school students will also perform at the opening and closing ceremonies.

A senior official from the education department said unlike foreign countries where students play a major role in such events, here even the Queen's Baton Relay is not taken to schools.

"The students of municipal schools usually come from lower economic background and cannot buy Games tickets. They could have given complimentary tickets or allowed to visit the stadiums so that they could learn something about the Games which are happening for the first time in Delhi," said the officer.

New Delhi, September 30
Two anticipated lines of Delhi Metro have run into delays. While the Airport Express Metro Line of Delhi has missed its deadline of September 30, the Central Secratariat-Badarpur corridor might also not be operational from October 2.

The Express line has run into trouble as the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) has not issued the mandatory clearance for the track yet and the speed trials have to be tested on the track to get the clearance. The 22-km long high speed Metro corridor was scheduled to be opened for public use by September 30.

The track will connect the heart of the city, Connaught Place with the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The trains will run at a speed of 120km/hr on the tracks and the speed trial is necessary. A spokesman for the authority has said the launch date will be announced only after getting all the necessary approvals.

The much-awaited Central Secretariat-Badarpur Metro line is also stuck as security tests have not been complete yet.

"The Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) who was to test the line today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday), has not conducted the test. If the CMRS conducts the test tomorrow and gives clearance, the Delhi Metro will be made operational."

"We are committed to make the line operational before the Games. But we are not sure whether they will give the clearance by inspecting the line in a day. So there are possibilities of missing the deadline," a Delhi Metro official said

The 20.16 km-long line was to have connected three Commonwealth venues-- the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the National Stadium and Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.

However, if opened on October 2, the Metro line will be operational till Sarita Vihar only as the work till Badarpur station was yet to be completed. 

New Delhi, September 30
Though the politicians associated with the Babri Masjid Action Committee are clamouring for moving the Supreme Court after the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court today delivered its verdict on the long-drawn Ayodhya issue, most Muslims in the national Capital feel that it is a matured verdict.

Calm prevailed across Delhi as people of all faiths accepted the verdict with unanimity.

Abdul Majid, a resident of Batla House, a locality with strong Muslim population, said he and lot of other Muslims were satisfied with the verdict.

"We have no reasons to feel bad. I think the Hindus also feel the same way. It is good that we all have been mature in our reactions," he said.

Rehman Khan, a resident of Jama Masjid, said that the verdict had unveiled the view of the judiciary and it should be acceptable to every community. The judgment is not in favour of any community, he added.

Similarly, Dr Ahmed, a medical officer working with a government hospital, is of the view that the judgment is good to maintain peace and communal harmony in the country.

And this seems to be the mood of the city as there were no reports of any public show of euphoria or protests from any party. 

New Delhi, September 30
The 18-day leave in the schools of the Capital, starting tomorrow, would not be affecting the studies adversely. This is because the schools have adjusted their list of holidays in such a manner that their total annual holidays will remain the same despite the impending long leave.

The Delhi government has directed the schools to remain closed during the Commonwealth Games. The order was conveyed to the schools long back, giving them enough time to adjust their holidays accordingly.

Government officials said they had asked schools to reduce the summer holidays from 61 to 49 days to make up for the extended autumn holidays during the Games.

However, there is some confusion over the status of holiday in some schools, as a few private schools might close from October 2.

Father of a child studying in a well-known private school in Shekh Sarai said the school has asked his son and others to report tomorrow also.

Many schools have organised extra classes to ensure that students do not fall behind the syllabus. An Amity International School official said they had held extra classes so that they could complete the syllabus without any hiccup.

The rationale behind keeping the schools shut during the Games is to allow children to watch and enjoy the sporting extravaganza. It would also keep a big chunk of the usual traffic off road and help the authorities in keeping traffic inconvenience to the minimum.

New Delhi, September 30
If someone thought that the Commonwealth Games (CWG) would help Delhi get rid of beggars, he is proven wrong as they are still seen on prominent red lights and crossings of the national Capital.

The Delhi government has failed in its much-hyped plan to make the Capital free of beggars before the Games. Though it had approached various state governments to send beggars back home to a kind of rehabilitation, the plan did not work.

"We did not get any positive response from the state governments. We are not sending beggars to any other state and are carrying out routine operations," said SC Dikshit, director of social welfare department, Delhi. He also denied that the city government was rounding up beggars and housing them at some secluded place.

Among the various prominent areas where beggars can be spotted are Bikajicama Flyover, Panchsheel Flyover, Tilak Marg, Janpath and Sarojini Nagar Flyover.

According to sources, the Delhi government in its routine operations was catching about three beggars a day on an average, while the whole cost of carrying out the drive comes to about Rs 1 lakh a day.

Also, as per regular visitors to the Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place, about 150 beggars were seen outside the temple gate on Tuesday evening.

They had reportedly protested against forced eviction, though senior officials expressed ignorance in the matter.

"We are not doing any extraordinary things to deal with the issue of beggars. What we are doing is an ongoing drive. Under the drive, we catch them, produce them in a court and then take them to beggars' home. Reports that we are hounding them at secluded places are wrong," added Dikshit.