40 touchscreen info-cafes for Commonwealth Games

NEW DELHI - Information will be merely a touchscreen away for over 100,000 visitors who are expected to visit the capital during the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games.

Forty tourist info-cafes — comprising a touchscreen, a quick bite-cum-coffee corner and a souvenir counter — are to be set up across prime market locations in the capital to allow visitors access to information about the Games, local cuisine, lodgings, entertainment, transport and culture.

The information can be translated in any of the major Commonwealth languages.

A model of the cafe was unveiled in the capital Friday. The brainchild of Delhi-based artist Ved Pohoja and four of his friends, the cafes will operate on spaces provided by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NMDC) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

The touchscreens measuring 30 inches by 20 inches will operate on a simple set of commands for the convenience of the tourists.

“The tourist info-cafes have three components - an information screen that will provide every information tourists require, a food corner and souvenir counter which will sell India and Games-related memorabilia. Information can be extracted with the help of a bluetooth and laser prints. The screens will be fitted with printers,” artist Ved Pohoja told IANS.

Pohoja, who graduated from the Delhi College of Art in 1978, has been working on the project for 20 months.

“The idea behind the project was to promote Delhi. The metro has accommodated people down the decades but has never bothered to brand itself as a city. We decided that the city should have a brand,” Pohoja said.

The info-cafes, to be manned by 200 youngsters, will provide livelihood to 3,000 people in the capital for 60 days, Pohoja said.

The crew of 200 is being trained to converse in English.

“The most difficult task was to get all the government agencies under one umbrella to make space for the cafes,” he said.