New Delhi, October 2
With the completion of the Delegation Registration Meetings (DMR) today, the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 has become the biggest event in the history with more than 6,700 athletes set to take part in the event. There were about 5,800 athletes and team officials in 2004 CWG in Melbourne, which held the record for the maximum participation so far.

India has the largest contingent of more than 600 athletes and team officials while Bostwana is the smallest with fewer than five athletes and officials. India is participating in all the 17 disciplines.

"After the completion of the Delegation Registration Meetings, we can say that more than 6,700 athletes and team officials will be taking part in Delhi 2010," said Organising Committee (OC) secretary-general Lalit K Bhanot.

"We are pleased that Delhi 2010 will be the biggest-ever Commonwealth Games," he said.

"More than 5,800 athletes and officials have already arrived in Delhi. With more arrivals scheduled in the coming days, Delhi 2010 is well on the way to becoming the biggest in history," said Bhanot.

There are many World, Olympic, Commonwealth Games and continental champions among the participants.

Some of the countries who have sent big contingents for the games include Australia with 550 athletes, England 525, Canada 400, New Zealand 325, Malaysia 325, Scotland 300 and Wales 240.

However, the OC had been speculating more than 8,000 athletes and team officials from 71 countries.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution commending the efforts of the OC CWG to get things ready for the grand celebrations of sport beginning on Sunday.

CGF president Mike Fennell moved a resolution praising the OC for bringing things under control before the arrival of the athletes and brining the Games back to the highest degree of excellence. The resolution was passed unanimously and greeted with applause.

The Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) of the 71 nations and territories taking part in Delhi 2010 appreciated the efforts in readying the Games Village for use by the athletes and team officials.

Fennell said that this would be the largest Games in the history of the Commonwealth Games, surpassing the participation in Melbourne 2006 by more than 1,000.

New Delhi, October 2
The city's security arrangement has been buttressed to ensure that the Commonwealth Games (CWG) go off without any glitch.

Briefing the media about the fool-proof security arrangement in the city, Delhi police commissioner Y.S. Dadwal today expressed confidence of incident-free Games and said the security put in by the Delhi police would be applicable to everyone.

The Delhi police is providing security for 41 venues, 12 competition venues and six non-competition venues, apart from the Games Village, railway stations and airports. Besides, it is ensuring transportation security for participants.

Dadwal said, "No stone has been left unturned." To secure Delhi, 28,387 police personnel, 195 companies (consisting of around 20,000 men) of paramilitary personnel assisted by NSG and SWAT commandos have been deployed. The Indian Air Force will provide air cover to thwart any terror attack like the 9/11 strikes in the USA.

"This security arrangement has been laid after considerable thought, examination and re-examination looking for loopholes. It is a multi-layered, multi-dimensional arrangement," said Dadwal, adding that ensuring security for the Games is a "moment of great challenge and responsibility" for the Delhi police. He said, "There is a higher security matrix for the Games compared to other events held in the city" and refuted media reports that there was any specific security threat to the Games.

Dadwal said guidelines have been issued on security and the restrictions mentioned in the plan will be strictly followed. "It is applicable to every visitor. No relaxation or exception will be made," Dadwal said, citing the example of Union home minister P Chidambaram undergoing security checks at venues.

The Delhi police has also cancelled the leaves of its men till the Games get over. "It is a huge task. We have cancelled the leaves of all our personnel for one month from September 15. All our men are on duty 24x7. Some of them are even sleeping in police stations and then carry out their duty," said the commissioner.

Regards to traffic arrangements during the Games, Dadwal said, "We are not asking anyone to stay at home. We just want people in Delhi to be aware of the routes. If they plan, they will face no travel worries."

The mega event kicks off in with the opening ceremony to be held at the revamped Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in south Delhi tomorrow. Some 7,000 athletes and officials from 71 countries and territories are expected for the Games, India's biggest sporting event since the 1982 Asian Games. 

New Delhi, October 2
With the Capital eagerly waiting for the Commonwealth Games to start tomorrow, the transport department has also braced itself for meeting the challenges in the coming days. The Central Secretariat-Sarita Vihar Metro will be open to the public from tomorrow morning, while those depending on travel by road can reach the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium free if they have a DTC bus ticket.

The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will deploy 300 low-floor buses to transport spectators to the venue, free of charge.

According to a DTC official, these buses will operate from 31 locations across the Capital and the neighboring parts of the city. The main locations include Anand Vihar bus stop, Moolchand terminal, Hauz Khas, Dhaula Kuan, Rohini, Yamuna Bank.

"There will be free bus service to and from the stadium during the opening and closing ceremonies on October 3 and 14," the official said. The buses will ply at frequency of 10-20 minutes.

However, the 15-km Central Secretariat (CTST) -Sarita Vihar section has come as a breather at the last moment as it will enable people to travel to 10 of the 11 Commonwealth stadiums apart from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) R. K. Kardam today completed the inspection of this line today and permitted its opening for public use. Passenger services will start simultaneously from Central Secretariat and Sarita Vihar at 8 am tomorrow and before the start of the same, special pilot trains to check the preparedness will be run on this line with officers from signalling, electrical, track, rolling and stock as per the standard safety precautions followed by DMRC.

Train services on this line will be run with a high frequency of a train every 2 minutes and 40 seconds to cater to the rush expected for the opening ceremony of the CWGand train movement on this line will be monitored by senior Metro officers from the operations control room throughout the inaugural function.

The last trains will be available at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Metro station at 11:20 pm for passengers going towards Central Secretariat while the last train from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Metro station towards Sarita Vihar will depart at 11:10 pm. Normal service hours on this line will be from 6 am to 11 pm from October 4.The line is expected to be extended up to Badarpur from Sarita Vihar in about 10 days. 

New Delhi, October 2
No giant wheel rides, no food stalls! This year's Ramlila celebrations are set to be a quiet affair thanks to the stringent security arrangements in place for the Commonwealth Games.

The Delhi police has directed several Ramlila committees to do away with the usual melas that accompany the enactment of the Ramayana every evening. This year the Ramlila is clashing with the October 3-14 Games. The Ramlila fair is from October 8-17.

The restrictions will remain till the end of the Games, October 14, which is Saptami day according to the Hindu calendar. The Ramlila committees have been asked to hold low-key small affairs.

Some Ramlila committees have decided to invite the foreign delegates to watch the stage performances.

Pratap Jain, member of the Dharmik Leela Committee at the Lajpat Rai Market, said, "We have been asked by the Delhi police not to organise any mela or fun rides this year as they can become a security issue during the Games. However, we want to invite foreign delegates to watch the performances on the Ramayana and serve them some Old Delhi delicacies. If we get permission from the police for this, it would be nice."

The committee organises its Ramlila opposite the Lajpat Rai Market near Red Fort every year.

Some committees like the Lav Kush Ramlila Committee, which hosts programmes every year at the Red Fort grounds, has already sent out formal invites to embassies.

Arjun Kumar, general secretary of the Lav Kush Ramlila Committee, said, "This time the celebrations will be different as the Games and the Ramlila are overlapping. We are gearing up for the festival with special arrangements. We are preparing air-conditioned rooms for the artistes and foreign delegates who are expected to come to watch the Ramlila performances."

He said the committee has sent 72 invitations to various foreign embassies and also spoken to the ambassadors. According to Kumar, they have got a letter from the Sweden embassy expressing a wish to watch the Ramlila.

"With many visitors from abroad evincing interest to watch the Ramlila, we are setting up comfortable AC pandals," Kumar said.

The committee will also provide translators to narrate the Ramlila in English to the visitors and explain to them its significance. Also, pamphlets and CDs on the history of the Ramlila will be given to the foreign visitors.

"This time, Delhiites will definitely miss the usual celebrations as the police has asked us to avoid community lunches and melas. The halt to cultural programmes will lead to sponsorship difficulties for the committees. Though initially we opposed the restrictions, we later accepted the demands as the Games is a national event,'' said Ram Manohar, an organiser of the Ramlila committee in Lajpat Nagar.

According to a senior police official, the Ramlila celebrations will be a low key affair till October 14. No melas and celebrations would be allowed in any part of the city. "The organisers can hold the stage show if they are given permission; it is a traditional affair and we cannot ask them to stop it for the sake of Games. But strictly the melas and fairs are not allowed till October 15," he added.

Over 1,000 Ramlila performances are organised in the Capital. The fairs held alongside are much sought after by the Delhiites as they have food stalls, games and other entertainment for families.— IANS

New Delhi, October 2
As the Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi sets for a smooth start, it is not only the international athletes that are enjoying some of the best facilities at the 'world-class' Games Village, the foreign media is also coming in with appreciations for the Main Press Centre (MPC) at Pragati Maidan.

As the gossips go in the media lounge in MPC, it is one of the Commonwealth Games premium media centre with every facility to make journalists comfortable.

"This is one of the best media centres I have seen," said one of the reporters from Australia, while savouring the ambience of the media lounge.

Apart from providing facilities of the latest technological version, the media centre has a pub coming up next to it, a pharmacy well stocked with condoms, a convenience store, a mobile store and an ATM. The delegates who visited India during the 1982 Asiad, are here for the CWG as well said that the things are excellent this time round.

Spread across 6,700 sq metres with Wi-Fi facility, it will cater to about 2,000 journalists, including around 800 from overseas. To assist the smooth functioning, the workforce at the centre includes 135 interns from Indian Institute of Mass Communications (IIMC).

In order to provide hassle-free conditions for the media, the central work area at the MPC has workstations for 400 journalists and 200 photographers. This includes 300 desktop computers with broadband connectivity (200 for journalists and 100 for photographers).

The helpdesk at the main lobby providing information on travel, ticketing, venues and schedules as well as services like distribution of media kits and prime event limited tickets, is adding to the value of the MPC. 

New Delhi, October 2
The under-construction pedestrian overbridge near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium which collapsed last week injuring 27 labourers might have been restored by the Indian Army, but for the victims and their kin, life is yet to come to terms.

The compensation is yet to reach the victims, as the Delhi government's labour department is taking time in preparing the list of affected persons.

However, the P&R Infra company, which had constructed the foot overbridge and was blamed for its collapse, has lent a helping hand to the injured.

"Officials of P&R Infra have been visiting us. They have been taking care of the expenses of the required implants," said Dr Vivek Trikha, ortho surgeon at AIIMS Trauma Centre, involved in the treatment.

Government sources claimed that the victims would get the compensation in a day or two. The labour department in consultation with the hospital authorities has been preparing the list in this regard.

"The PWD would be issuing the bank drafts. We are waiting for the labour department to issue a list of persons. Among the injured persons, seven or eight would be given Rs 3 lakh each and those with minor injuries would be given Rs 1 lakh each. Scratches and superficial injury are not being considered, " said a senior PWD official, on condition of anonymity.

However, many expected beneficiaries who have been discharged have already left for their native places, while seven are recuperating at the AIIMS Trauma Centre.

Some said they had not received any intimation about the compensation.

Five of the injured persons are undergoing treatment at the hospital's ortho department. Of them, four have been fixed with implants.

While Punni and Jitendra suffering from isolated head injuries are still unconscious.

"All have suffered grievous spine fractures and the cost of surgeries has been from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lakh. In one case, it has been Rs 2 lakh," added Dr Trikha.

"Punni, who has been operated, is unconscious and is in the ICU, while Jeetendra would be discharged in a couple of days," said Dr Deepak Agrawal.

Attendants of Nirmal, who is recuperating with multiple injuries (chest, spine and thigh) is under critical care and Punni and Valistha, confirmed that P&R employees had come to meet them and given money, but they had no information on compensation amount.

New Delhi, October 2
The body of a 36-year-old man who worked as a driver with retired railway officers was found inside an almirah in the Janakpuri area of west Delhi this morning.

According to the police, the deceased has been identified as Shyam Sunder from Vikas Nagar.

The incident came to light when neighbours complained of foul smell emanating from the house. "The house is owned by Mamik, a former railway officer who is in the USA to visit his son. Shyam Sunder has been working with him for the past 15 years. He used to take care of the house in his absence. When we checked the house, Shyam Sunder was found stabbed inside an almirah," said a police official, adding that it was a brutal murder as the victim's was stabbed in the eyes. He is believed to have been murdered about two to three days ago, said the official.

The police is working on some clues and a case has been registered. 

Greater Noida, October 2
In a week's time, eco-friendly three-wheeler rickshaws will be seen plying on the roads of Gautam Budh Nagar district.

The rickshaws, which are expected to ease the problem of local transport in Greater Noida, were scheduled to hit the roads on October 1 itself, but the launch got delayed because the agency entrusted with the job was busy launching the three-wheeler in Delhi ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

To start with, about a dozen battery-operated rickshaws will be introduced. But their number would be gradually increased later, it is learnt. Equipped with facilities like newspaper, magazine, mineral water and global positioning system, the tariff of these rickshaws will be the same as of the normal ones. It can ferry three passengers.

These rickshaws can be called to ones house or any bus stand through a call centre. The call centre will direct the nearest rickshaw to the client.

The agency which is supplying the rickshaw has been selected from among eight agencies which had responded to the Noida Authority's advertisement tender for the echo-friendly three-wheeler.

Senior manager of the Noida Authority, A.K. Arora, said these rickshaws would not charge more than the normal ones. Stands will be set up for these rickshaws at different spots.