New Delhi, September 17
The elaborate programmes for the Commonwealth Games' opening ceremony, which would provide a sneak peek into the country's eclectic mix of religions, cultures, music, etc could run into rough weather if the ground at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is not dry enough to hold the expansive stage on which artistes are supposed to showcase their skills.

In a recent meeting with the Group of Ministers presiding over the CWG preparations, Wizcraft International Entertainment officials made it clear that if it rains on the day of inauguration, which is October 3, it would certainly derail the ceremony.

The fear among the organizers is that a soft ground would not be able to hold the weight of a massive stage, which is required to organize all the scheduled events, even if the weather on the day of inauguration is good.

In such a scenario, a much lighter stage would be raised, causing several segments of the ceremony to be cancelled.

The worst scenario for the organizers is that if it rains on October 3, no stage could be raised then, only some ground functions would be held in that scenario, said an official of the Organising Committee conversant with the opening ceremony details. The Aerostat, one of the most billed events of the opening ceremony, would not be raised amid poor weather conditions.

The official said the plans for the opening as well as closing ceremonies are very much in place and if conditions favoured them, then the ceremonies would be most impressive. "We are encouraged by the positive buzz the Games Village has created on its soft launch after all the negative publicity. Weather is not in anybody's control but if it permits, I think you would see a very impressive ceremony," he said about the opening ceremony.

The rehearsal for the events would also start only in the last week of September, probably after September 22. It was supposed to begin from September 1, but like all the things connected to the Games, it was postponed due to delay in completion of other projects. 

Faridabad, September 17
The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) has launched a major drive to clean up the stretch of the Delhi-Mathura national highway that falls in its jurisdiction.

According to the official version, the drive has been launched in view of the impending Commonwealth Games, as a large number of foreign visitors may use the highway to reach tourist places like Agra, and Mathura etc.

The seven-day drive was kicked off from Delhi-Faridabad border at Badarpur. The drive would cover the road till Palwal.

The salient feature of the drive is that apart from a large number of scavengers, four JCBs have been pressed into service to clean up the highway. Each JCB has been put under the charge of a senior field officer from the engineering wing of the MCF.

The drive includes removal of encroachments like kiosks and other unauthorised structures along the highway. The MCF has asked people to remove all encroachments along the highway, failing which, the civic body would not only remove them, but also impose penalties on the culprits.

Not just encroachments, stray animals and cattle will also be removed so that they don't obstruct vehicular movement on the road.

New Delhi, September 17
The Games Village kitchen that happens to be the largest in the country, having the capacity of dishing out 36,000 meals per day on an average, is facing challenges in procuring the ingredients required for special cuisines.

But international chefs at the grand kitchen are doing their best to get the right ingredients for the dishes that are supposed to be country-specific in taste and flavour.

The international chefs working in the kitchen, the contract of which is being handled by Delaware North Company of Australia, said they are not getting good quality meat and chicken.

"The chicken we require has to be fresh. It has to be transported in special trucks at a certain temperature, or it would become stale and, hence, useless," said Jimmy Shu, the chief chef who is heading the Malaysian counter. Shu has come from Australia.

He said they would require 1,200 kg meat and 8,000 kg buffaloes for the Malaysian food during the event. It will be transported in parts and maintained at a specific temperature. "The meat, including chicken, has to be kept at 5 degree Celsius. If it stays above that temperature for about four hours, it has to be thrown. Chicken has bacteria that cause stomach infection if the temperature is not maintained," said Shu.

He said the city has not been able to supply the required amount of meat and chicken, so it is being transported from neighbouring states. "We have not been able to get the appropriate supply of meat from Delhi, so it is being brought from other states," he said.

Apart from meat and chicken, the chefs at the kitchen are struggling with good quality noodles. Chefs said good quality noodles are not available in the city. "We require Hokkien noddles for Malaysian food. We are getting it from Singapore, as it has to be perfect," said another Nainar Ali, another chief chef at the counter.

However, chefs said they found best spices in Delhi markets. "We went to INA Market to get spices. The shopkeepers there had excellent spices of almost every variety," said Nainar.

The chefs said the Indian staff working under them were cooperative and hard working. "The Indian staff are eager to learn," said Shu. 

New Delhi, September 17
Millennium Park on Ring Road has ushered into a new era of world-class transport facility, said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit while inaugurating the CNG Hybrid Bus Depot from where only air-conditioned buses will be regulated.She described this as one of the best green bus depots in the country.

The new hybrid buses can cover distance in a speed similar to Delhi Metro. With this, the DTC has come a long way in providing the most advanced public transport in the Capital.

The Chief Minister said that depot has been constructed keeping in view the Commonwealth Games, but it will continue to be an integral part of Delhi's legacy. With the coming up of this depot, the city has marched towards making the public transport system more reliable and comfortable.

The CM appreciated the efforts of the PWD in commissioning such a bus depot in the shortest possible time. It is equipped with an important logistic centre to ensure punctuality of city routes.

She expressed confidence that more hybrid buses will be inducted into the DTC fleet.

Transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely who was also present on the occasion stated there would be 1,500 buses exclusively for the players, mediapersons and officials. 

New Delhi, September 17
While the city civic authorities continue to fight against the dengue-causing mosquitoes, the managements of several colleges of Delhi University do not seem to be bothered about keeping the environment sanitised.

This has happened even as several hostels are supposed to be used as a back-up for housing Games athletes and visitors during the 12-day mega sporting event. In this direction, the governor's office had intimated the hostel managements of DU.

"The Delhi University colleges have become a den of dengue and authorities don't look to be that bothered about keeping the institute's environment sanitised. Students leave the colleges after a certain time and the authorities have not taken pains to clean the overhead tanks and water coolers," said Dr V K Monga, the chief of the health committee xissued to several DU colleges-Rajdhani, Shivaji, Ambedhkar, Hansraj, Laxmibai along with IT College of Engineering.

During the day, 68 fresh positive cases were reported, taking the cumulative count of people affected by the vector-borne disease to 2,153.

"The cases have mainatined a decrease in the last few days within a range of 60-70 compared to over 70 in the previous week. The deaths remain at five, including that of an outstation patient," added Dr Monga.

However, two persons have succumbed to the dengue infcetion this evening in Majeedia Hospital, a private hospital in the city, according to sources. 

New Delhi, September 17
The central district police today arrested a 22-year-old cab driver for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl and sodomising her two younger brothers for the past one and a half years at his residence in the Bapa Nagar area of the city.

According to information, the minor girl, a class VIII student, was also raped by a friend of the accused driver, Lalit. The victim boys are students of classes III and V.

Lalit was hired to ferry the victims from their residence in Prasad Nagar to two prominent schools in his private cab. However, instead of taking the children to school, Lalit used to take them to his house in Bapa Nagar and sexually exploit them.

According to the police, Lalit used to drug the children before sexually assaulting them and allegedly made their MMS clips. He was arrested following the registration of a case, a senior police official said.

"He had threatened the children that he would kill their mother if they told anyone about his act. Scared, the children decided to keep quiet. But around 25 days ago, the girl told her mother about it," said a police official, adding that even their mother could not muster the courage to approach the police and only stopped her children from going to school.

"She kept quiet till one of her tenants asked her as to why the children were not going to school. She confided in her, and later through a local politician, the matter was gradually brought to our notice," said the official.

Lalit was arrested after the medical examination of the children.

The father of the children died sometime ago and their only source of income is the money that they receive from five rooms they have rented out.

Gt Noida, September 17
A warden of International Maritime Institute (IMI) located at Knowledge Park I here was yesterday evening arrested by the Kasna police on the charge of abetment to suicide. A student of the college had on Wednesday night attempted to commit suicide in the college hostel.

"On Thursday, Mohammad Atif, a student of IMI, lodged an FIR (first information report) that a student named Piyush Dwiedi on Wednesday night tried to hang himself. However, he was saved by his friends who rushed him to hospital. He was discharged after a few hours," said Vijay Prakash, SHO, Kasna police station.

"Atif alleged that Piyush attempted suicide because he was being tortured by hostel warden S.P. Verma and the college management. The warden was arrested and a case of abetment to suicide was registered today," said Prakash.

However, denying torture accusation, Captain G.P.S. Bhalla, director of IMI, said, "We teach marine engineering and impart defence training as per the required standards. The training is very rigid and some students try to avoid it. Upset by the strict training, a false case has been lodged by the students."

New Delhi, September 17
A 70-year-old woman was allegedly found with slit neck inside her house in the Paharganj area this morning.

According to the police, the incident came to light around 6 am from the Tel Mandi area of Paharganj. "The victim has been identified as Munni Devi and lived with her husband in Tel Mandi. She was found dead in a pool of blood inside her bedroom by one of her sons this morning," said a police official from the Paharganj police station, adding that jewellery worn by the victim was missing. He said that the jewellery might be taken away to mislead the police.

According to the police, personal rivalry or property dispute could be the reason behind the murder as some property was registered in the victim's name.

"It is not everyday that people enter a house and kill a woman for gold chain and earrings. There is certainly more than what meets the eye," said the official, adding that a case of murder had been registered.

Munni Devi has two sons and two daughters who are married. While she lived with her husband, her two sons lived with their wives close by. This morning, after morning walk, one of her sons came to his parents' house. He found the door of the house open and saw her mother lying dead.

The house is located in a commercial area with shops on the ground floor.