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Interview: R Narayanaswami |
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“We want to bring in a sense of pride” |
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R Narayanaswami is a Special Advisor, Commonwealth Games, appointed by the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. A bureaucrat who'd held key positions in the past such as Chief Secretary, Delhi and Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, he spoke to INDIA EMPIRE on where Delhi is headed in preparations for the 2010 Games |
On the venues for the Games:
Fifty eight events would be held over a number of stadia, many of which are being renovated. They include the Siri Fort Games Complex, Yamuna Sports Complex, Dr Karni Singh Stadium, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (venue for the 2010 Games inauguration), Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee complex at Talkatora that includes the boxing stadium, Thyagaraja Stadium, cycle velodrome, Indira Gandhi Stadium, shooting range at Khadarpur, Delhi University Grounds, and training venues like Chhatarsal Stadium, Ambedkar Stadium, and the J N Stadium lawns.
On the Commonwealth Games Village…
The Commonwealth Games Village is being built by the DDA. This is where the participants will stay during the duration of the 2010 Games. Once the Games are over, we are looking at exploiting the Games Village commercially. They are due to start on October 3, 2010. We need 1 million gallons per day (MGD) water supply and the same capacity for sewage treatment at the venue.
On the manner in which the Delhi Government is overseeing and augmenting projects…
The Delhi Government is really concerned with the upgradation of the city's infrastructure. We are looking at completing 15-20 mega projects (including flyovers, malls, business centres) that will showcase our city, and country, and we want to bring in a sense of pride to all that we do. Seventy one associations bearing 71 flags from 56 countries will be participating.
On power…
Upgradation of infrastructure would include augmenting power supply, peak demand is expected to be about 4,000 MW. The current local supply levels are about 1,300 MW. The rest is outsourced. In the pipeline are 750 MW from the Aravali project at Jhajjar (1,500 MW), nearly 900 MW from the Dadri NTPC project (980 MW), about 750 MW from the Bamnauli project in south west Delhi, and 1,500 MW from the gas-based project at Bawana.
On the transportation scenario…
We are looking at revamping blueline and DTC bus services, bringing in 2,500 brand new buses, 1,500 with low floors. All of these will have pneumatic doors. Given rising traffic levels, it is a challenge to reorder the entire system of routes. We are also modernizing bus queue shelters.
On the water front…
Our current peak requirement is about 750 million gallons per day. By the time of the Games, it is expected to go up to 950 MGD. There are projects and plans in place to augment raw water treatment capacity to meet this demand. Major work is going on along the Munak Carrier Line at Sonia Vihar plant.
—Sayantan Chakravarty
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April 2008
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