Selja inspects Commonwealth Games site, furnished rooms
By IANSThursday, July 16, 2009
NEW DELHI - As the Commonwealth Games 2010 will attract hundreds of thousands of people to the national capital, the government is all set to provide well-furnished accommodation at low cost, union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said Thursday.
People will come from various parts of the country and will prefer low cost accommodation. We are preparing for everybody and not focussing on a particular section, Selja told reporters.
The minister was speaking after inspecting one of the flats in Vasant Kunj that has been fully-furnished and that will house some visitors during the Games.
Selja said they are expecting more than 100,000 visitors during the Games.
“We are leaving no stone unturned to provide alternate accommodation,” she said.
These flats are being constructed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi’s housing and land development authority, and would be furnished to three-star standards by the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), an autonomous body under the ministry of tourism.
It will be like a small village, she said about the Vasant Kunj housing complex.
Selja said furnishing a three-bedroom flat will cost around Rs.450,000. Each building’s basement will have provision for storage and will have a coffee house that will run round-the-clock.
Apart from three-bedroom flats, two and one bedroom flats are also being constructed at Vasant Kunj. According to an ITDC official, the estimated cost of furnishing the two and one bedroom flats could cost Rs.350,000 and Rs.250,000, respectively.
“These flats will be available on rent to the visitors but the tariff are yet to be decide,” the official said.
In Delhi alone, around 5,500 rooms will be made available. Others will be spread across the National Capital Region (NCR).
“We require around 30,000 rooms for the Commonwealth games and these will be made in Delhi and the NCR region. Yesterday, we had a meeting with the representatives of the three states and I am told that things are under control,” she added.
The Vasant Kunj complex alone will have a total of 2,709 flats.
Selja said special focus will be given to beautification and landscaping.
