Commonwealth in India
The 2010 Commonwealth Games are the nineteenth Commonwealth Games, and the ninth to be held under that name. The Games which are scheduled to be held in Delhi are a multinational, multi-sport event which features competitions involving thousands of elite athletes from members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Organised every four years, they are the third-largest multi-sport event in the world, after the Summer Olympic Games and the Asian Games.As well as many Olympic sports, the Games also include some sports that are played mainly in Commonwealth countries, such as lawn bowls, rugby sevens and netball. The Games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which also controls the sporting programme and selects the host cities. The host city is selected from across the Commonwealth, with eighteen cities in seven countries having hosted it. The event was first held in 1930 under the title of the British Empire Games. The event was renamed as the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, the British Commonwealth Games in 1970, and gained its current title in 1978. Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Australia has been the highest scoring team for ten games, England for seven and Canada for one. India between 3 October and 14 October 2010. The games will be the largest multi-sport event conducted to date in Delhi and India generally, which has previously hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi. It will also be the first time the Commonwealth Games will be held in India and the second time the event has been held in Asia
An internal glimpse :-
Since the Commonwealth Games-2010 are going to be organized in Delhi, a large number of domestic as well as foreign visitors are expected in Delhi. Furthermore, the Commonwealth Secretariat has adopted a slogan/ key-word 'Welcome to Historical City of Delhi'. Keeping in view the importance being accorded to the historicity of Delhi, it is all the more important that the important monuments in Delhi are spruced up specially for the occasion to make them attractive from a tourist point of view. Here, an attempt has been made to identify those monument which are either popular from tourism point of view or are located on main truck routes. It is further stated that the items of work have also been identified laying emphasis on sprucing up of the monuments for the event. A tentative estimation of the cost has also been done, which mainly comprises following major areas-
- Conservation/ repairs at the monuments.
- Sprucing up of the monuments by way of improving the pathways, repairs and painting to the railings/ boundary wall, upgrading toilets, drinking water, publication counters, signage, etc.
- Chemical treatment of certain monuments.
- Environmental development
- Illumination / floor lighting of the monuments
The Department of Tourism/ ITDC could also be involved in upgradation of visitors facilities at the monuments to ease the additional work pressure on the ASI. It may not be inappropriate to mention that the execution of work relating specially to Commonwealth Games-2010 in addition to routine work may not be possible with the existing work-force of not only Delhi Circle but also of the Horticulture and Science Branch. It is thus essential that additional executive and supervisory staff/ officials are provided to share the added responsibility. An attempt has been made here to project the additional fund as well as man-power requirements in tabular form as Appendices.
Other preparations
In preparation for an influx of English-speaking tourists for the Games, the Delhi government is implementing a program to teach English, and the necessary skills for serving tourists, to key workers – such as cab drivers, security workers, waiters, porters, and service staff. In the two years prior to the Games 2,000 drivers were taught English. The program aims to teach 1,000 people English per month in the hope of reaching all key workers by March 2010. In addition to Delhi, the Indian Government plans to expand the program to teach people in local tourist destinations in other parts of India.
To prepare for the energy-usage spike during the Games and to end chronic power cuts in Delhi, the government is undertaking a large power-production initiative to increase power production to 7,000 MW (from the current 4,500 MW). To achieve this goal, the government plans to streamline the power distribution process, direct additional energy to Delhi, and construct new power plants. In fact, the government has promised that by the end of 2010, Delhi will have a surplus of power.
In addition to physical preparation, India will offer free accommodation for all athletes at the Games Village, as well as free transport and other benefits, such as a free trip to the famed Taj Mahal and a reserved lane for participants on selected highways. The Games Village will house over 8,000 athletes and officials for the Games. Indian states will train state police forces to handle tourist-related issues and deploy them prior to the Games. A massive construction and "beautification" project has resulted in the demolition of hundreds of homes and the displacement of city dwellers – at least 100,000 of New Delhi's 160,000 homeless people have removed from shelters, some of which have been demolished. Bamboo screens have been erected around city slums to separate visitors from the sights of the slums, a practice which human rights campaigners have deemed dishonest and immoral.
The Delhi High Court is set to implement a series of "mobile courts" to be dispatched throughout Delhi to relocate migrant beggars from Delhi streets. The mobile courts would consider each beggar on a case-by-case basis to determine whether the beggar should be sent back to his/her state of residence, or be permitted to remain in government-shelters.
Saurav Singh
