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Zaheer ruled out of series
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Praveen Kumar in spat with fans after practice match: Report
Sachin talks about his weakness ‘vada-pav’
Morgan reveals run-out story
Adam Scott emerges sole leader
Coach alleges discrimination
Santosh, Mandeep in quarters of Asian boxing championship
Shooter Shweta
Chaudhary excels
Man United stun Man City
SAFF meet: India to face Nepal in semis
Saina set for big test
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Zaheer ruled out of series
Northampton, August 7 "Zaheer Khan is suffering from a recurrent right hamstring strain and a right ankle impingement. He will require a surgery for his ankle, followed by intensive rehabilitation for both the ankle and hamstring," the BCCI said in a statement. "He will need at least 14-16 weeks to recover completely. He will therefore not be able to participate in the ongoing Test series and subsequent Twenty20 International and ODI series against England," it added. Medium pacer RP Singh, whose last Test appearance for India was in 2008 against South Africa, has been called to replace Zaheer in the Test, ODI and the Twenty20 squads. The limited overs series starts on August 31 with the one off T20 match. "The All-India Senior Selection Committee has picked RP Singh as his replacement in the Indian squads for the Test series, and the T20 International and ODI series. R P Singh will join the team at the earliest," the BCCI said. The 25-year-old RP has been out of favour for quite a while and his last ODI appearance was in 2009 against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. Zaheer, who walked off the pitch following a hamstring strain on the opening day of the first cricket Test at Lord's on July 21, was expected to be fit for the August 10-14 match at Birmingham. He played in the just-concluded two-day practice match against Northamptonshire to test his fitness. The 32-year-old opened the Indian attack but bowled only three overs, conceding 24 runs before walking off the field, raising a question mark over his fitness. Zaheer's injury setback comes close on the heels of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and batsman Yuvraj Singh being ruled out due to injuries in what is turning out to be a disastrous tour for India. On the brighter side openers Virender Sehwag, who missed the first two Tests due to a shoulder injury, and Gautam Gambhir are expected to be part of the line-up for the third match. The world number one Test side is trailing 0-2 in the four-match series.
— PTI |
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Praveen Kumar in spat with fans after practice match: Report
According to a report on the website 'pakpassion.net', "large groups of Indian fans encircled the tourist's team bus as they attempted to make an exit from the County ground." "While most of the banter directed towards the players was good natured and in support of the Indian team, as it had been throughout the day, things turned ugly shortly before the tourists team bus departed." Praveen was reportedly "seen charging out of the team bus with a cricket bat in his hand." "...(he) had to be restrained by teammate Suresh Raina as he lunged towards a group of supporters. Praveen could be seen pointing at a group of fans and had to be restrained by stewards." The website reported that it did not stop at that and medium pacer Munaf Patel "left his seat on the bus to complain to stewards that fans were being disrespectful to him and some teammates. "Munaf was seen speaking to the stewards and pointing towards fans and asking stewards to intervene in the issue. "As stunned fans looked on at the bizarre events, not long after Patel regained his seat on the team bus, Praveen once again leapt out of the team bus and made a charge for the same group of fans who he had attempted to lunge towards a few minutes earlier," it said. "Stewards once again had to restrain Praveen Kumar as he hurled abuse and pointed at one particular fan."
— PTI |
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Sachin talks about his weakness ‘vada-pav’
"The taste of vada-pav continues to linger in the mouth," said Sachin, flanked by cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, while talking about his favourite dishes. Vinay Yedekar, a childhood friend of Sachin, said, "Vada-pav is his 'weak point'. When he scored his 28th century, a party was organised, and close friend Vinod Kambli landed up with a parcel of 28 vada pavs to celebrate the occasion!" Sachin also talks about how hard it was to overcome the temptation to bunk a practice session in his younger days and have a go at vada-pav.
— PTI |
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Morgan reveals run-out story
London, August 7 Bell was run out when he walked off the crease presuming that the ball had gone for four at the stroke of tea only to realise later that it was in play when he headed for the dressing room. But he was reinstated after India decided to take back the appeal on being requested by England coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss Morgan was at the non-striker's end at that time and revealed that Rauf didn't quite give a clear answer as to whether the ball was still in play when he asked him. "I said 'Is it four?' And Asad (Rauf, the umpire) nodded his head. No, he didn't nod his head. He sort of gestured. So I just turned round and walked off presuming the ball was dead," Morgan told 'The Daily Telegraph'. "It was a weird one really because Asad at the end of the over doesn't actually call 'over'; he never does. He just gestures to the bowler," he claimed. Bell and Morgan were then stopped by reserve umpire Tim Robinson on the boundary line. "Tim just told us to hold on because they were checking to see if it had gone for four and what action they were going to take because the bails had been taken off," he recalled. Morgan insisted that neither he nor Bell had a clue about what was happening in the middle. "I wasn't really worried until I walked off and Belly told me they'd taken the bails off," he said. "In the dressing room we didn't really know what was going on. We were just waiting around to see what happened. The bell went and we still hadn't heard anything," Morgan said. "Billy Bowden (the television umpire) came up to our dressing room three times during the interval to say they hadn't retracted their appeal," he elaborated. "Literally two minutes before Matt (Prior) and I were about to go out after tea, the message came through that Belly was still in."
— PTI |
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Didn’t play as we hoped: White
Pallekele, August 7 "Clearly didn't play as we would have hoped," White said. "Full credit to Sri Lanka, and Dilshan who played a wonderful innings. If anyone scores a hundred off 57 balls, it will be hard work to win the game from there. But look, there were some disappointing aspects of the game from our end as well." White defended his decision to stick with pacemen Shane Watson (1-41), Johnson (1-47) and Brett Lee (1-38), who all received some treatment while John Hastings went for 0-34 off his three overs.
— IANS |
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Adam Scott emerges sole leader
Akron (Ohio), August 7 On Thursday the Australian stormed into the first round lead with a blistering 62. On Friday he posted a not so hot level par 70 and allowed some of the front runners in the chasing pack to catch and match him at 8-under, namely Americans Rickie Fowler, Ryan Moore and the lanky Tour rookie Keegan Bradley. And on moving Saturday, almost certainly urged on by Tiger Woods's ex-caddy Steve Williams, he took back the sole lead with a four under-par 66 that took him one stroke ahead of the chasing pack with a 12 under 198 total. Snapping at his heels, one shot back at 11-under in this prestigious event that pays out the same kind of money as the majors and draws a field every bit as strong as they do, are his highly talented Aussie compatriot Jason Day who tied with him for second in the Masters in April, and Japan's teenage terror Ryo Ishikawa, who roared into contention on Saturday with an eyebrow-raising 64. Ishikawa, already a national celebrity who has won 10 times in his native Japan, has failed to set the US alight in his previous tilts at American titles, but he is clearly hoping to do so this time. Two shots off the pace at 10-under and still very much in the hunt on a crowded leaderboard is Scotland's top golfer at present, Martin Laird, who shot a third round 67 to be tied for 4th with lanky American rookie Keegan Bradley. And a further shot back and looking very capable or still winning here is the cool and competent Luke Donald who brought his A game to Firestone on Saturday and like Ishikawa, stormed up the leaderboard with a 6-under 64. At 9-under, Donald is tied with Swede Fredrik Jacobson and the colourful American prospect Ricky Fowler. Only joint 21st at the halfway stage, the World Number One came out with all guns blazing on moving Saturday and promptly proceeded to birdie the first, second, fourth and eighth. He picked up another shot at the 12th and with his game on fire, birdied the 16th and 17th to go to seven under for his round and into joint first place at 10 under. But then, inexplicably he lost some of his iron control and bogeyed the 18th to finish his round with a 6-under 64 and by the end of the day Donald at 9-under was down to joint 4th with joint second round leader Rickie Fowler. They in turn were a shot clear of Zach Johnson, who like Donald had shot a 64. And on a day when some of the cream of the new guard that has been establishing itself this year came to the top, Rory McIlroy, the recently crowned US Open champion, was a shot further back at 7-under after posting a 67. Atwal tied 42nd
Arjun Atwal tumbled badly in the last eight holes to card a one-over 71 but still managed to rise three rungs to tied 42nd after the third round of the Word Golf Championships - Bridgestone Invitational. Atwal, started on 10th and birdied the first two holes on but then parred the next seven before finding a third birdie on the first. Then came the slid with bogeys on second, third, seventh and ninth as he missed out several putts. Atwal's three-day total stands at two-over 212.
— Agencies Leaderboard Adam Scott -12 Ryo Ishikawa -11 Jason Day -11 Keegan Bradley -10 Martin Laird -10 Fredrik Jacobson -9 Luke Donald -9 Rickie Fowler -9 Zach Johnson -8 Rory McIlroy -7
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Coach alleges discrimination
Jalandhar, August 7 The state government had honoured boxing coach, GS Sandhu with Rs 11 Lakh cash prize in the 2009 as his trainee Vijender Singh had won a bronze in Bejing Olympics in 2008. “While Sandhu was honoured, my contribution was totally ignored. Even my trainee Sushil Kumar had won a bronze in wrestling in Olympic Games, then why this discrimination? The Punjab government should have recognized my worth as well”, he said. Sondhi also said the state government played some politics as a result of which his name was not even considered for the award. “The issue is not about the huge cash amount of Rs 11 lakh but the fact that my long innings in wrestling was not recognized. If Sandhu can be chosen for this honour then why not me?” he asked. The chief national wrestling coach however clarified that he has no grudges or ill-will against Sandhu. “He is my contemporary and I am very happy that he was chosen for this honour. However, I felt dejected at the apathy of the state government against me”, he added. Sondhi said he had sent letters in this regard to the Union Sports Minister, Chief Minister Punjab and Director Sports, Punjab but all that he got in return was further discrimination and injustice. “It is very discouraging that despite approaching the authorities there was no action in this regard”, he said. Sondhi had a tenure of 36 years as wrestling coach. It was due to his efforts that Sushil Kumar won a wrestling bronze in Olympics (2008). Sondhi also highlighted that out of his 36 years of coaching, he spent 32 years in Punjab and had been working hard to promote wrestling. “My trainees won 42 gold, 33 silver and 25 bronze medals in various international competitions. My players performed at Senior and Junior World Wrestling Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, SAF Games and Olympic Games”, he said. |
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Vishnu, Jehan post first win; Kush dominates
Hyderabad, August 7 The 17-year old Prasad (Meco Racing) from Chennai enjoyed a profitable weekend as he fought off hectic challenge from Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing), winner of the third round in Coimbatore last month, and championship leader Chittesh Mandody (Mohite’s Racing) for a satisfying win. After disappointing performances in the previous rounds, Prasad finally got his package spot-on as he made significant progress in the championship standings, moving from seventh to fourth while Mandody, despite a third place finish here, retained his top spot. “Everything went right for me this weekend. I was happy with my kart and had the pace to be in front. The final was very close, but I managed to stay in front. It feels great to win my first race of the season after some disappointments in the previous rounds,” said Prasad. Meanwhile, the Junior Max Pre-Final and Final witnessed hectic action with few karts coming together. The Pre-Final was red-flagged after four laps and re-started, but 12-year old Daruvala from Mumbai kept his focus to clinch his first win of the season. “I was focused on a good start which I managed. Thereafter, I was determined to put in consistent laps and pulled away. In the previous three rounds, Arjun Maini got the better of me, but this time, I finished in front and I am very happy,” said Daruvala who now leads his class with 344 points to Maini’s 323. Maini, winner of the three previous races, had a wretched weekend. He was involved in a collision in the Pre-Final, but starting the Final from 10th position, the 13-year old Bangalorean carved his way to finish third. The other Maini sibling, Kush, drove his own race in the Micro Max class which he dominated from start to finish and posted his fourth consecutive win in the championship this season. “The track was a bit slippery and I almost crashed, but after I settled down, I opened up a good lead and won,” said Maini behind whom there was a massive battle for the other podium spots that went to Abhirath Shetty (Meco Racing) who was second ahead of Kevin Lazarus (Mohite’s Racing) in a tight finish. |
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Santosh, Mandeep in quarters of Asian boxing championship
New Delhi, August 7 In their maiden appearances, Santosh (52kg), displayed some exceptional skills and techniques to beat Tugstsogt Nyambayar of Mongolia 18:9, while the nimble-footed Mandeep maintained a steady lead throughout the three rounds to beat Komiljon Kholioov of Tajikistan 21:9. Thapa's pull-out, however, was a setback for India as the 2010 Youth Olympics silver medallist was expected to do well in the bantam weight category (56kg weight class). Santosh, who won a bronze at the Giraldo Córdova Cardin memorial boxing tournament in Cuba earlier this year, was leading 5:4 after the opening round when he launched into an all-out offensive, giving his opponent no chance of a recovery. Disappointment came in the form of Shiva's withdrawal. Thapa, participating in his first Asian Championships, had to pull out of his opening bout after experiencing discomfort in his shoulder. Although it was minor niggle, the boxer decided not to continue with the bout keeping in mind the other important major tournaments scheduled for next year. With Asian Games silver medallist Dinesh Kumar (81kg) getting a bye in the first round and 34th National Games gold medallist Arun Hooda (+91kg) starting in the round of 8, the number of Indian boxers in the quarterfinals stage has increased to nine.
— PTI |
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Shooter Shweta
Chaudhary excels
Pune, August 7 Shweta pushed Rahi down to the fifth spot as the finalists for the ISSF ranking competition were spotted at the Balewadi ranges. After Heena Sidhu fired World Cup medal winning score of 387 yesterday, Shweta joined at the top with a round of 382, tied with quota place holder Annu Raj Singh. Annu
is placed second by virtue of having scored more inner 10s. Annu Raj has
10 Bulls Eyes while Shweta had eight. With top eight making it to the
final, Maharashtra had just one shooter in contention — Rahi - as
Shreya Gawande got pushed to the ninth position after CRPF's Sarvesh
Tomar sneaked in with a score of 376. The women's 10m air rifle final
standings were more or less undisturbed.
— PTI |
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Man United stun Man City
London, August 7 Sir Alex Ferguson's side trailed 0-2 at half-time after big-spending City took advantage of poor goalkeeping from new signing David De Gea to score through Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko. But United had been the better side for much of the first period and the champions tore into City after the break, equalising thanks to goals from Chris Smalling and Nani before the Portuguese winger snatched the stoppage time winner. It was the perfect way for United, who have won this curtain-raiser to the English season four times in the last five years, to conclude their pre-season programme ahead of the start of the Premier League campaign next weekend. Ferguson has always played down the significance of the Community Shield, but the bitter memories of last season's FA Cup semifinal defeat against City provided United with more motivation than usual. England winger Ashley Young, making a confident start after his move from Aston Villa, took advantage of his license to drift infield to link up with Wayne Rooney and advanced to a threatening position before Lescott came across to block the shot. This may have been a friendly in name but the derby factor and a feeling FA Cup winners City will be the main challengers for United's title gave an added spice to the occasion. Some of the tackles were laced with venom and City defender Micah Richards was lucky to avoid becoming a rare Community Shield dismissal as he caught Young with a nasty studs-up lunge. — AFP |
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SAFF meet: India to face Nepal in semis
Kathmandu, August 7 Nepal emerged winner from Group B on goal difference with Bangladesh finishing second to set up a semifinal clash with Group A winner Pakistan. "The momentum is with us and we will look to capitalise on that," said India coach Thomas Joseph. Nepal, on the other hand, would look to utilise the home condition, something Thomas is aware of. "Yes, they (Nepal) do have the advantage of playing at home and will come hard on us in the opening minutes. We, too, have played two games here and are quite aware of the ground condition," said Thomas. India will miss the services of influential midfielder Lalramzuava due to a one-match suspension, but the rest of the team is available for selection. The onus will be once again be on the strikers to get an early goal and set the tone. “We will need to defend well. It's a team game and everyone needs to play their part. The boys are all geared for the challenge. They are eager to play and do well," he further said. Indian skipper Mohammed Sajid too expressed confidence. "We will need to play our natural game and be alert till the final whistle. Nepal are a good side, but at the same time we know our strength and will look to capitalise on that," added Sajid.
— PTI |
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Saina set for big test
London, August 7 The 21-year-old, who reached the quarterfinals in the last two editions of the mega-event, has been troubled by an ankle injury this year, but is completely fit now after undergoing rigorous preparation for the event. "I have been working really hard for the last 4-5 months. There has been a lot of improvement but it will boil down to how well I adjust to the courts in London and play in the initial rounds," said Saina. The World number six got a bye in the first round and is likely to take on Adrianti Firdasari in the second. Saina has a 2-2 record against the Indonesian.
— PTI |
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Centrestage THE GAMES POLITICIANS PLAY
Although the bid document of May 2003 envisaged the Organising Committee as a Government-owned registered society, with the Chairman of the OC Executive Board (EB) being a government appointee, and the IOA President being only the EB Vice-Chairman, the OC was ultimately set up in February 2005 as a non-Government registered society, with the IOA President, Suresh Kalmadi as the Chairman of the OC EB. This change was orchestrated through a sequence of events, commencing with a document titled as an "updated bid" of December 2003 (which had no legal sanctity or relevance), indicating a changed structure. This "updated bid" dated December 2003 surfaced only in September 2004, viz. 16 months after the IOA made its bid and 10 months after that bid had already been declared successful! Despite serious objections from the erstwhile Minister, Youth Affairs and Sports, late Sunil Dutt, Kalmadi was appointed as the OC Chairman, based on a PMO recommendation of December 2004. This decision facilitated the conversion of the originally envisaged Government-owned OC into a body outside Governmental control, without commensurate accountability to Government and concomitant controls to ensure propriety and transparency (despite full financial guarantee and funding from the Government). Attempts in 2007 by Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister, YAS and late SK Arora, Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) to highlight the anomaly with the PMO, the Group of Ministers (GoM) and the Cabinet Secretariat met with strong resistance from the Chairman, OC, and were hence rendered unfruitful. In the absence of a single point of authority and accountability and the lack of a clear governance structure, a multiplicity of co-ordination committees were created, disbanded, and reconstituted at different points of time. This was unlike the structure for the Melbourne CWG-2006, where the Victorian Government oversaw the planning and delivery of the Games through a specially formed Cabinet Committee. The Minister for Commonwealth Games was specifically empowered and made responsible under the Commonwealth Games Arrangements Act 2001. Plans go haywire
The IOA bid of May 2003 estimated an all-inclusive cost of just Rs. 1200 crore (after setting off operational expenses against estimated revenues from hosting the Games). By contrast, the overall budget estimate for CWG-2010 for GoI and GNCTD (including MCD, NDMC and other agencies) as of October 2010 was Rs. 18,532 crore. This excludes investments by other agencies (such as DMRC and AAI/ DIAL) on allied infrastructure. There was enormous bunching of high value contracts in 2010, particularly in the second and third quarters. The argument of urgency was used to obviate the regular process of tendering for award of contracts. We found numerous instances of single tendering, award on "nomination basis", award of contracts to ineligible vendors, inconsistent use of restrictive Pre-Qualification (PQ) conditions to limit competition to favour particular vendors, inadequate time for bidding, cancellation and re-tendering of contracts, and inexplicable delays in contract finalisation, all of which seriously compromised transparency and economy. Revenue neutral!
The OC consistently presented staging of the Games as revenue neutral, if not revenue surplus. This argument was used to justify the independence and financial autonomy of the OC. However, this premise of revenue neutrality was seriously flawed, as it was never supported by robust and appropriately validated revenue projections. In fact, between March 2007 and July 2008, the revenue projections skyrocketed from Rs. 900 crore to Rs. 1780 crore. Both MYAS and MoF failed to exercise necessary due diligence and did not seriously challenge the OC's claim of revenue neutrality. In reality, the total committed revenues amounted to just Rs. 682.06 crore and the net revenue actually realised by OC (after deducting revenue generation costs) was just Rs. 173.96 crore. The OC could generate committed sponsorship revenue of just Rs. 375.16 crore (against the target of Rs. 960 crore), out of which nearly 67 per cent was from Government agencies/ PSUs. No revenue has been received on account of merchandising and licensing rights. The commercial exploitation of national and international broadcasting rights was badly managed. The agreement for national broadcasting rights between OC and Prasar Bharati was signed only on 23 September 2010, resulting in generation of just Rs. 24.70 crore of revenues for the OC. With regard to international broadcasting rights. The OC could sign agreements for only Rs. 213.46 crore, of which only Rs. 191.40 crore has been received. OC's performance on ticketing was also deficient. Gross ticketing revenue of just Rs. 39.17 crore was realised (against the target of Rs. 100 crore). The appointment of the ticketing consultant and the ticketing agency was delayed enormously, and sale of tickets commenced only in September 2010. The generous distribution of high value complimentary tickets was excessive (nearly three times more than at the earlier CW Games at Manchester and Melbourne). Also, OC adopted a wide range of ticket pricing, contrary to the recommendations of consultants, which contributed to low ticket sales (particularly of high denominations). OC included a revenue target of Rs. 300 crore in July 2008 from donations/raffle, against which it collected a paltry sum of Rs. 0.99
crore. Ceremonial events
The main ceremonial events of CWG-2010 were the Queen's Baton Relay (QBR), and the opening and closing ceremonies (which were to be signature events showcasing Indian culture and heritage). We note that the ceremonies were widely appreciated; in particular the opening ceremony was a spectacular success. However, we found numerous irregularities in the appointment of contractors/ vendors for various ceremonies. Regarding the QBR Launch Ceremony on 29 October 2009, we found an inexplicable reduction in the scope of work for JMW (the event management agency for the QBR Launch) in October 2009 (with an increase in cost). On the other hand, the OC made highly suspect payments of £ 386,237 to two little known entities - AM Films UK Ltd and AM Car and Van Hire Ltd - for diverse and unconnected services for the QBR Launch ceremony. The assignment of work and payments therefore were highly questionable; associated approvals and clearances were obtained and payments made with uncommon haste. Large amounts were also paid in cash, perhaps to avoid leaving a transaction trail. The role of Shri TS Darbari and Shri Sanjay Mahindroo, who were unrelated to OC's Ceremony Functional Area, in the QBR Launch Ceremony is also questionable. We found that planning for the opening and closing ceremonies was inordinately delayed. Further, a multiplicity of agencies was engaged - Shri Bharat Bala as Creative Director/ Creative Consultant, Spectak Productions (Shri Ric Birch) as International Consultant, Wizcraft as the Event Management Firm and 17 other consultants. There was considerable overlap between the roles and responsibilities of these multiple agencies. We also found that Spectak Productions and Wizcraft had tied up with other experts well in advance of the award of the contracts. The engagement of the additional consultants (for at least Rs. 6.12 crore) at OC's cost amounted to a clear financial benefit to
Wizcraft. Fees without work
There were also major irregularities in procurement of accessories/ special items. The consultant for the band stand, Mr. Mark Fisher, got his full fee of US$ 514,000, even though the idea of the band stand was abandoned. Mr. Fisher then presented a design for an aerostat, which was accepted. The fact that Spectak Productions and the aerostat vendor were part of the same group was concealed. There were also serious irregularities in the technical evaluation and award of the lighting/ searchlight contract, as well as in the award of the contract for video content. Contracts for Rs. 16.49 crore for art direction and props for the opening and closing ceremonies were irregularly awarded to Blue Lotus Productions, without even having an approved list of props which were actually required. Huge quantities of props remained unutilised. Some props were not even received. Many of these props were exorbitantly priced. Technology
Successful organisation of the Games required several integrated technical solutions, including a Timing, Scoring and Results (TSR) system, a Games Management System (GMS), and a Games Time Website. We found that planning for TSR was badly delayed and initiated only in January 2009. There were clear and repeated interventions at different stages to steer the TSR contract towards Swiss Timing Omega and eliminate MSL, Spain. Swiss Timing Omega and MSL Spain had jointly provided TSR solutions for Melbourne CWG-2006, Doha Asian Games-2006 and Beijing Olympics 2008 and were, thus, equally qualified /unqualified as to the "end-to-end service requirement". But OC was left with a single financial bidder, effectively eliminating any opportunity for competitive pricing of TSR. This facilitated award of the TSR contract to Swiss Timing Omega at an exorbitant cost of Rs. 135.27 crore (compared to just Rs.39.84 crore equivalent at Melbourne CWG-2006 from the same vendor). The procedures followed for hiring Mr. Greg Bowman and his company, Great Big Events (GBE), for a multiplicity of contracts relating to sports presentation ceremonies were also questionable. One contract was, in effect, de-activated in September 2010, and re-awarded at exorbitant rates to GBE. We also noticed fraudulent payments to GBE for false claims of assignments (even when they did not visit India). The exorbitant cost of Rs. 10 crore for the Games News Service(GNS) contract was due to a decision to go in for outsourcing (as against the internally developed model used at Melbourne-CWG 2006) and also on account of flawed tendering procedures (with re-tendering) resulting in award on a single financial bid to Infostrada Sports. GNS failed to perform satisfactorily during the Games, as the Games news content was inaccessible from 5 to 8 October 2010 and was rectified subsequently using makeshift arrangements. Glory to contractors
1.5 lakh lanyards at a cost of Rs. 0.68 crore were procured with an inexplicable fire retardant requirement of 800 degrees Celsius. We also found that the area over which the synthetic track was laid included 9,130 sqm outside the main track and area of final warm-up and call rooms at JLN Stadium at a cost of Rs. 6.63 crore. We are unable to derive assurance that this additional quantity was required for the Games, and confirmed as such by OC. We also found deficiencies in the quality of the main competition track during our field visits in November 2010. A joint tendering mechanism was evolved for supply and installation of VVIP/VIP chairs and media chairs for five venues. We found a systematic pattern of calculations and re-calculations for inflation of rates, which ultimately benefited the vendor, Superior Furnitures. We found excessive "redundancy" in power supply arrangements for the venues, including installation of DG Sets as permanent fixtures, installation of UPS, and hiring of additional DG sets of huge capacity by OC. We also found multiple forms of power back up - a solar power generator unit, and a duel fuel gas turbine with add-on Vapour Absorption Machine (VAM). The expenditure of Rs. 22.41 crore on the turbine and the VAM is largely infructuous, as it would be highly expensive to generate power from this unit post the Games. We found that the Rugby field, developed at a cost of Rs. 2.11 crore, was being converted back into a cricket field, which defeats, at least partly, the objective of creation of state of the art sporting infrastructure. Further, Rs. 2.58 crore was diverted for creation of sporting facilities for other disciplines (basket ball, lawn tennis, volley ball, hockey/football etc). Environmental concerns
Except for strengthening of the Akshardham bund, there was no evidence of compliance with the upstream flood mitigation/ abatement measures on the river Yamuna stipulated by the Ministry of Environment and Forests while according conditional environmental clearance. DDA essentially attempted to abdicate responsibility for this issue. We could also not verify compliance with the orders of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which had permitted construction on the basis of an assurance regarding monitoring of construction activities by a PM-appointed committee in association with Dr. RK Pachauri. Suprisingly, when contacted, Dr. Pachauri confirmed that he had not been involved with any such monitoring activity. Aesthetics
In 2004, GNCTD decided to implement streetscaping and beautification of roads for "aesthetics" before CWG-2010. The project was not part of Delhi's City Development Plan under the GoI's flagship JNNURM programme for urban development and renewal. GNCTD did not deem it necessary to obtain clearance from DUAC for this project nor was there evidence of consultation with the Traffic Police at an appropriately early stage to assess and co-ordinate its impact on the management of the huge volume of Delhi traffic. Streetscaping and beautification works at exorbitant average awarded cost of Rs. 4.8 crore/ km (compared to NHAI's estimated cost of Rs. 9.5 crore / km for constructing a four-lane national highway or Indian Railways' estimated cost of about Rs. 4.1 crore/km for constructing railway track) were awarded and executed in an ad hoc and arbitrary manner, with wasteful expenditure of Rs. 101.02 crore. PWD stipulated the use of a mix of imported and indigenous luminaries for different categories of roads. Records show the decision on use of imported luminaries being taken with the active involvement of the CM at various stages. No technical note regarding reasons for use of imported luminaries along with cost benefit analysis was found on record. The decision taken by PWD regarding use of imported luminaries was also adopted by MCD and NDMC. The imported luminaries were procured at a far higher cost than the domestic luminaries, leading to avoidable extra expenditure of Rs. 31.07 crore across the three agencies. Models of various companies of vastly different repute and of different price range were selected at the same level, without any record of techno-economic evaluation of options offered by different bidders. We also found that the procurement price of imported luminaries was far higher than the fair price computed on the basis of actual invoice price. Connaught Place
Although the project for renovation and restoration of Connaught Place (CP) was envisaged in April 2004, it was plagued by undue delays. The original estimated cost of Rs. 76 crore (as of May 2005) went up nearly nine-fold to Rs. 671 crore by July 2007, with a huge increase in scope of work. For keeping the low-floor buses 'new' for CWG-2010, DTC kept about 16 per cent of its low floor fleet idle between March and August 2010; further, 78 per cent of the Blueline fleet was also taken off the roads in the NDMC area for the duration of the Games. This, compounded by large scale diversion of DTC drivers for Games-related duties, led to significant disruption of public transport services. Revenue neutral Revenue collection from sale of tickets was Rs 39.17 crore against the target of Rs 100 crore
extravagant Rs 4.8 crore per km spent on beautification and streetscaping. (The cost of laying a four-lane national highway is `9.5 crore per km and for laying a km of railway track, it is Rs 4.1 crore) The Timing, Scoring and Results contract given out for Rs 135.27 crore. (The same vendor had supplied the system to Melbourne Games for the equivalent of Rs 39.84 crore) Cost of renovating Connaught Place went up from Rs 76 crore in 2005 to Rs 671 crore in 2007 The idea of a band stand was dropped but the consultant, Mark Fisher, was paid his full fees of $514,000
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Northampton, August 7
Pune, August 7
THE XIX Commonwealth Games (CWG-2010) were successfully hosted in Delhi from 3 to 14 October 2010. These Games represented the largest ever multi-sport event held in India. 4336 athletes and 2115 officials representing 71 Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) participated in competitive events in 17 sports disciplines, besides events in 4 para sports disciplines.
