Former sports minister Aiyar leads Delhi escape

Published>Thu, Aug 26 10 07:37 PM

With former sports minister Mani Shankar Aiyar playing the Pied Piper, Delhi is likely to witness a mini-exodus when it hosts the Commonwealth Games in October.

Schools, colleges and most of the offices will be closed during the Oct. 3-14 Games, prompting tour operators to launch getaway packages for those who fear the multi-sport event will create a major disruption.

Aiyar, a staunch critic of the Games, has already announced that he would spend the entire duration of the Games abroad.

He argued the money spent on Games should have been used to develop infrastructure in rural areas if India wanted to emulate China as a sporting super power.

With a multi-layer security blanket thrown around the city and the roads becoming narrower, thanks to the dedicated Games lanes, travel agencies are looking to cash in on the inconvenience to the locals.

Chief Operating Officer of MakeMyTrip.com Keyur Joshi confirmed a 30 percent jump for October bookings, compared to that of September, and expects it to increase further.

"Traffic is one big reason that people want to travel out of Delhi. Commuting daily would be a problem once the Games start," Joshi told Reuters on Thursday.

"Security will be the other issue. Entering Delhi from places such as Gurgaon will be a problem with several check posts on the way. It would be like Aug. 14 for 12 days."

Joshi was referring to the annual intensive checking of vehicles entering Delhi on the eve of independence day on Aug. 15.

Sanjay Jindal, who runs an electronic security business, is packing his bags as he does not expect any business for the two-week duration of the Games.

"During the Games, my factory will be shut and children will be at home as schools will also remain closed," he said.

"It will be a dull time for business as the capital will be practically shut off and the Delhi government will seal routes. It will become a walled city."

The lukewarm response to the first phase of ticket sales underlined the city's initial indifference to the Games but the organisers are optimistic.

"We expect sales to pick up because the tendency in India is to buy tickets closer to the event," said Games ticketing chief Sanjeev Mittal.

Source: Web Search