Delhi a world-class city ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games?

With just a year to spare for the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be hosted in New Delhi, the capital city is taking rampant measures to give its infrastructure a boost and city a face-lift, hoping to replicate Beijing's measures for the Olympics last year.

In a bid to achieve a world class city status, and be known as a city capable of hosting a good and successful games in lieu of the 2010 Commonwealth Games where 8,000 athletes of 72 countries will participate and over 1,00,000 spectators are likely to turn up, the capital city New Delhi, India is undergoing a major face-lift. A boost to infrastructure means new underground lines, lavish stadiums, plush hotels, a new international and domestic airport terminal, 212-acre glass-and-steel structured railway station, city connectivity with a metro rail system and efficient bus transit corridors for low floor buses; there is even a hi-tech ambulance service that is guaranteed to get to people in 15 minutes. Work is on at an accelerated pace at The Commonwealth Games Village, a $144 million project, that comprises state of the art luxury apartments for housing athletes participating in the games, on the banks of the river Yamuna that runs through the capital. India has not hosted a major world sports event since the 1982 Asian Games and is eager to put on a successful face for the 2010 CWG after Melbourne hosted a good series in 2006. China, too, pulled out all the stops to make last year’s Olympics one of the most spectacular sporting events in Asia. Despite the enthusiasm and the huge amounts of money being spent on upgrading infrastructure and city amenities ahead of the games, the Organisation Committee has not been able to forgo delays in scheduled completion dates for various stadiums and venues for the Games events. The organisation has been marred in controversies after Commonwealth Games Federation President, Michael Fennell had shot off a letter to Games Organising Committee chairman, Suresh Kalmadi asking him to arrange a meeting with the prime minister a month ago. "With only a year to run until the Games, I feel I must personally brief the Prime Minister of India on the lack of preparations and to seek his input in developing an appropriate recovery plan," wrote Fennell. "I am looking forward to some urgent actions in order to bring about the successful celebration of the Games in 2010," Fennell wrote. As reported in a NewsX article:

Under attack for the capital's tardy preparation for 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi went into a damage control mode today, assuring every glitch would be ironed out to deliver a successful Games next year.Reacting to Fennell's outburst, Dikshit said she would use every means at her disposal to make it a success, while Kalmadi announced that he would facilitate the CGF chief's meeting with the Prime Minister. Exuding confidence that everything would fall in place, Dikshit said the Delhi Government would complete all work "well in time".

Security Measures:- Security was turning out to be the major concern, owing to terror threats thwarting major sports events around the world over the last one year and after the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai last year. Assuring the Commonwealth countries of foolproof security to players and other visitors during the 2010 Games, India on Wednesday shared with the commonwealth representatives, the details of the security arrangements being made. These include a three-tier security around all competition venues, helicopter surveillance, over 2,000 Close Circuit Televisions (CCTV) to monitor each and every movement around important locations and special vehicles to ferry guests. A blog for the Commonwealth Games 2010, lists the following measures to be taken for providing foolproof security during the games:-

Three-tier security ring across the 13 venues

Athletes will be taken from Games Village to venues in dedicated lanes. Traffic will be blocked for some time

Helicopters will provide air surveillance

Over 2,000 CCTVs will keep a close watch on the venues, Games Village and movement of athletes.

Live CCTV images will be sent to state-of-the-art PCR(Police Control Rooms)

Athletes will be flown in on chartered flights from their countries

574 vehicles will be used for ferrying athletes across the city

Vehicles will undergo mandatory anti-sabotage clearance every morning before athletes board them

11 of the 13 competition venues are in Delhi while one each is in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh

Around 9,000 athletes and officials of 52 Commonwealth countries are likely to visit Delhi

New Delhi has come a long way since it won the bid for hosting the 2010 Games after beating Hamilton, Canada. Few of the capital's 15m people were ready for the upheaval. Many slums have been demolished, swanky shopping malls and multiplexes have come up, an elite service of low floor buses run on the roads, the modern Metro Rail connects the games venues and the rest of the city making public transport effective and attractive. A host of new hotels and hospitals, from affordable to luxurious have come up across the city and bed-and-breakfast style guest-houses would provide for housing the 120,000 tourists expected to visit the city. The civic authorities are running on an overdrive to repair all roads, construct flyovers and bridges, improve sanitation and greenery. The authorities also plan to ban 400,000 bicycle rickshaws, regularly seen pedalling across city flyovers, and order the remaining 100,000 to take a driving test. Moreover, they plan to make the capital "beggar-free" and "stray -cattle free". The face-lift, including new roads and power plants, is estimated to cost the Indian taxpayer more than £10bn or $15.93bn.