Weather shows hope, Guwahati ready for Nat'l games

Guwahati, Feb 8: Guwahati is ready to host one of the biggest sports carnivals in the country as weather is showing promise of opening up.

With just one more night left before UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi kicks off the ten-day-long 33rd National Games, Guwahati is fighting a brave battle against the nature to put up the grandest show ever to be staged in this part of the country.

Except Delhi Asiad of 1980, this has been by far the biggest and the best, agreed both Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi and Asom Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

All the newly built venues are decorated and already 9000 athletes from 20 odd states have checked into the Games Village.

Strong favourites Kerela, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Manipur have arrived.

They are the traditional powerhouse of Indian sports and each of them has a stronger and bigger contingent. Asom has by far the biggest with 908 members, contesting all the disciplines. However, the Games have been robbed off the big stars with majority of them avoiding it as no big international sporting event is on the horizon.

Long jumper Anju Bobby George and Archery World Champion Jayanta Talukdar have opted out of the Games. But there are thousands.

''Further 3000 more athletes are coming and these have upset our accommodation plan as we are prepared for 10,000. We will accommodate them,'' said Chairman of the Publicity Committee Pradyut Bordoloi.

The Games organisers have blocked booking of 59 hotels of Guwahati, making it out of bound for normal visitors as the heavy and unforeseen rush of athletes and officials kept them on the toe.

Meanwhile, the Games relay torches had arrived from all the districts of the state and this morning it was ceremonially taken to the Sarusajai sporting complex from where it would be kept for the night, and tomorrow during the opening ceremony it would travel from the complex to the main athletic stadium.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today took part in the torch carrying ceremony.

Nearly 3000 vehicles have been requisitioned. During the opening ceremony shuttle buses have been provided keeping normal traffic at least four km away from the main Sarusajai complex. About 3000 artists are supposed to take part in the opening ceremony with bands from the Army, police, various para-military forces and CISF having been been pressed into service.

The state government today appealed to recreate Deepawali in every household of Guwahati to welcome the athletes. In fact they put up newspaper advertisement announcing that Secretariat and other government buildings would be decorated with light and appealed to the citizens of the city also to do the same in their own home to welcome the guests.

''This is the pride of the state and we will keep our hounour'', said Asom Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, the Chairman of the Asom Olympic Association(AOA) as well as the Organizing Committee.

With cloud of fear and violence having gone following the withdrawal of ULFA boycott call, there is a festive mood throughout the city as the business outlets and restaurants are announcing special discounts to the guests and officials.

There are minor hiccups mostly related to distribution of invitation cards, welcome gate as well as rehearsals of opening ceremony besides general waterlogging problem, but most of these are due to nature's fury as Guwahati has been lashed by rain for the past five days.

The weathermen are forecasting cloudy sky for today but sunny day for tomorrow. Guwahati is getting ready for tomorrow as huge traffic restrictions have been in force as inside the city there will be a public rally of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and outside the city the opening ceremony of the National Games.

The organisers have also put up huge screens in four different major centers of the city for the public to watch the opening ceremony live.

Already a 510-member Doordarshan team had been working round the clock in all the 18 stadias to beam the action live.

Meanwhile, security has been tightenedtinued and the Army and paramilitary force had sanitised every stadium. Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil is also arriving tomorrow to review the law and situation, while the Union Ministers of the entire North east are coming today to take part in the Opening ceremony.

UNI