Wet and watch

As expected, the rains came down in a drizzle at first, then in a stouter form. Water-logged streets remind one of Delhi, drippy roofs more so.

As expected, the rains came down in a drizzle at first, then in a stouter form. Water-logged streets remind one of Delhi, drippy roofs more so. That homely feeling. It seems the authorities have not really prepared themselves for the rains, despite the early Games disaster. Transport is out of gear and outdoor sporting schedules being pushed back beyond tolerance. Jyotsna Dey was sitting on the stairs of the tennis stadium, waiting for the Indian events to happen. 8220;We are from Delhi, settled here for four years now, and all the three of us in the family are crazy about sport. We will wait,8221; she said. 8220;We need to see every Indian experience here, we need to cheer.8221; Good luck to the Deys, good luck to the Games.

TRAVEL TIPS

The bus service at the Asian Games incorporates a fleet of brand new vehicles 8212; MAN, Mercedes Benz and more. The company is Karwa, owned by a member of the Royal family. It has a fleet of over 1800 buses and, believe it or not, nearly 6,000 drivers, mostly from India. Pretty impressive figures for a country with a population so small and the desert so big. So what will happen to these magnificent vehicles once the Games are over? 8220;They will be distributed to other services, to ferry schoolchildren, as city buses, and for inter-state and even inter-country travel. The bus system in Qatar is just about taking off, and it will require even more investment and adjustment,8221; said an official. 8220;Good for us, drivers, who manage a decent salary and decent work conditions,8221; added a driver from India, happy just after a year in this country. Could be yet another option, as a discussion between Indian journos revealed: 8220;Donate, donate, for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.8221; Mirth happens to be this profession8217;s burning passion.

A QUESTION OF RIGHTS

These things crop up at any major sporting event these days. Somebody has bought off all the rights to film and tape and engage and sell details of all events and athletes. The rest can ply their trade on the streets and in way out corners of the venues. Free economy is a great believer in Intellectual Property Rights. Some are great believers in the other meaning of 8216;free8217; economy, smuggling in video recording equipment into venues and evidently being caught. Flash forward to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and we will have to see how democratic rights interfere with the free economy theory.