Influx of tourists on the cards in New Delhi
Despite media speculations that the Commonwealth Games were set to go down as a sporting and organizational disaster the Indian government is looking forward to the event.
The hosts are confident that the adverse propaganda projected by certain sections of the media would not bar the inflow of visitors and tourists during the forthcoming Commonwealth Games at New Delhi.
The Federal Minister of the Tourism Industry in India, Selja Kumari made the claim that a big turnout is expected in the capital city for the biggest sporting extravaganza in the country in the last two decades.
She sounded optimistic saying that the right steps have been put in place for the event, her observations were made on World Tourism Day hosted in the national capital on Monday.
"I think that there has been a little bit of effect of the negative publicity, whereas we were trying to promote the Games outside the country, but the people read on the Internet about everything, they came to know about every
country. So, I think the negative campaign that took place recently, will have an impact, but even after this, we are absolutely ready," said Selja Kumari.
She was even more optimistic in the last part of her talk to the media as she claimed that there were strong indications that the total number of tourists could be higher than earlier estimates despite a surfeit of controversies
that have maligned the name of the third largest economy in Asia.
"The figures, we think would be as expected. However, it can be more as well. We hope that despite such adverse media propaganda, I am still hoping that tourists will come," added Selja.
After failing to get their resources in place in the right time the organisers finally decided to house the visitors and other tourists during the games.
They were helped by the provincial government of Haryana state who made a big investment launching Swiss type camps with star-rated hotel facilities in the cities of Faridabad and Garagon.
Apart from the tourists some 7000 athletes from 71 teams, representing 54 Commonwealth member states are expected to arrive in the country to take part in the event.
The sporting extravaganza is set to start on 3rd October and will conclude on the 14th of October. This is the biggest event in the Asian country since the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi.
Meanwhile the monkeys with slender tails known as “langurs” are being deployed around various venues as well as the Games Village to secure the players and other participants to fend off the common bonnet monkeys, who are known
as vicious and can potentially harm humans.
Some 10 trained langurs were taken to the headquarters of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee from where there they are going to be deputed at various venues around the Indian capital.
The caretakers of these langurs were told about the specific task at hand and why they were being deployed.
Most of the monkeys have been given the task to look after the people who converge to the headquarters of the Organising Committee in New Delhi and also at the main Jawaharlal Nehru stadium where most of the events will be taking
place.
Other than the headquarters the other major area of deployment is the Games Village where the monkeys will guard the competing athletes and officials.
"With regard to the Commonwealth Games, wherever a stadium comes under the NDMC (jurisdiction), this is being done to avoid the monkeys in those areas," said Devender Prasad, a civic inspector of the New Delhi Municipal Committee
(NDMC).
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