Will Delhi be ready for Commonwealth 2010?

President of the Commonwealth Games Federation Mike Fennell has expressed hope that New Delhi will be prepared ahead of schedule for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

He was addressing a press conference along with Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the Indian Olympic Association, after meeting Chief Minister Sheela Dikshit and Lt. Governor B L Joshi.

"I had a meeting with the Delhi chief minister Dikhshit and she assured me of all support. I also had a meeting with the Lt. Governor, who is in charge of the Delhi Development Authority, and he too assured me of his cooperation.

"I would be visiting the site of the Games village on Thursday and then I would submit my report to the Commonwealth Games Committee.

"We discussed the power, water, road, transport problems with Dikshit and she told us that this would be taken care off. I also visited Pune where the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games would be held. This would be a curtain raiser for your ability to hold the 2010 games," he said.

Kalmadi denied that the money for organising the 2010 games was constantly rising. Union Minister of Sports Mani Shankar Aiyar had expressed his displeasure with the rising costs of the games during his interaction with the media sometime back.

"The minister had some misgivings and that have been clarified. We have explained to him that the games expenditure would be Rs 900 crore and another Rs 300 crore would be spent on training etc.

"Remaining Rs 4000 crore would be spent on raising the stadiums for various games by the Sports Authority of India, Delhi Development Authority and the Delhi University. We are not going to take any money from the government and every single rupee would be returned," Kalmadi said.

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He denied that he had boycotted the apex committee meeting that had been appointed under the chairmanship of Arjun Singh.

"I had gone to Pune to receive Mike Fennel. Next time the committee meets I would definitely attend it," he clarified.

Fennel rescued Kalmadi saying that the games had been given to the Indian Olympic Association and hence they would deal with them only.

"But there is nothing surprising in the government announcing apex committees to supervise and coordinate the inter-ministerial problems," he said.