Peeved at the Armed Forces?s decision to charge money for sparing its men and facilities for the Commonwealth Games, Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy has written to Defence Minister A K Antony asking for a rethink. The letter, accessed by Newsline, asks the army to provide space and manpower ?free of cost?.

Reddy, who chairs the Group of Ministers on Commonwealth Games preparations, has called the Armed Forces demand for Rs 11.29 crore ?onerous?.

This amount includes the estimated expenditure to be incurred by the Organising Committee on accommodation provided by the Army headquarters (Rs 9.29 cr) and NCC complex (Rs 78.4 lakh) which will cover the rent, water and power charges and cost of repairing the barracks, appliances and furniture as per specifications of the Armed Forces.

However, Reddy reminded the Defence minister that the OC requires this accommodation only temporarily to carry out rehearsals for the performing artistes ? at the most for two-and-a-half months. ?Whatever improvements are required to house them in a decent and comfortable manner will be carried out by the OC…they will not be indulging in any commercial activity on these premises, so they should not be asked to pay rent for the space being made available to them,? said the letter.

Reddy also argued that the Armed Forces have been providing assistance for every sporting event held in the country and the same level of commitment is expected for this important event as well.

The minister said it is hence ?not appropriate? to ask the OC to pay in the form of allowances that has been asked at the rate of Rs 20,000 per month for officers, Rs 14,000 per month for JCOs and Rs 10,000 per month for other ranks. He claimed all other government agencies have willingly provided facilities to conduct the Games and it would be incomplete without the participation of the Armed Forces.

Jamaica hasn?t sold a ticket yet
A day after Commonwealth Games Federation chief Michael Fennell gave a pepper-and-salt treatment to the Organising Committee, incidentally, his own Federation Jamaica has not sold a single ticket to the event. The OC has, till now, sold tickets worth Rs 9 crore. The maximum tickets have been sold for the opening and closing ceremonies, nearly 25 per cent of the total tickets. However, Rs 4.5 crore worth of tickets have been sold to other foreign countries. Though Jamaican Commonwealth Games Federation has not been able to sell a single ticket, Australia leads the tally and is closely followed by New Zealand and Britain. Among sports, hockey is the most sought one. About 14 per cent of tickets sold so far are of hockey, followed by athletics at 11 per cent and gymnastics at 10 per cent. Swimming is at the fourth spot with 8 per cent share of sales.

Govt to rehabilitate slum dwellers
The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the state government and the MCD to allocate suitable alternative spot for rehabilitation to slum dwellers falling in way of streetscaping work being carried out by the agency around Thyagaraja Stadium. A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked the counsel to ensure the slum dwellers are given proper accommodation elsewhere, also suitable for their earning their source of living. The court has asked the petitioner?s counsel to visit the spots with the state counsel and inform them whether these were suitable and acceptable to them. On July 29, Newsline had reported that streetscaping work around Thyagaraja Stadium had hit a roadblock with the MCD unsure of what to do with a stretch of slum clusters that fall in the way.