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Archives for September 2010

Monkey business in Delhi

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Gordon Farquhar | 13:43 UK time, Wednesday, 29 September 2010

I've been in for 24 hours, and I'm wondering how long it's going to take for my brain to re-calibrate. I'm constantly doing double-takes.

I was pleased that even the locals bend their necks when an elephant ambles across a six-lane road in the semi-darkness, carrying three passengers and a shrub.

No one looks twice when a motorbike chugs by four-up: only the driver's got a helmet on, behind him are two women side-saddle in their saris, one clutching a babe in arms.

The extraordinary way in which the traffic balletically inter-weaves, with nothing but a micron or two of paint between bumpers is fascinating, not least for the almost complete absence of road rage.

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Commonwealth Games risk damage with delay

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Gordon Farquhar | 15:25 UK time, Tuesday, 21 September 2010

There is no doubt in my mind that Mike Hooper, chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CWGF), wasn't exaggerating when he described the athletes' village in Delhi as a "major, significant problem".

He also doesn't think it's insurmountable, as long as massive resources are mobilised immediately to put things right.

The promise made by the organisers that Delhi would have the best athletes' village ever experienced at a Commonwealth Games is beginning to sound like an empty boast.


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Dengue worry for Delhi

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Gordon Farquhar | 16:23 UK time, Thursday, 9 September 2010

The difficulties facing the organisers of the have been well documented, but now another unwelcome problem has forced itself upon them.

The late and prolonged monsoon season has been beneficial to the breeding populations of mosquitoes, leading in turn to a more severe than usual outbreak of in Delhi.

Dengue is endemic in India, as it is in more than 100 countries in the world, according to the World Health Organisation. In simple terms, it's caused by a virus, is transmitted by mosquitoes, rather than from human to human, and it's a problem equally in urban and rural areas in the tropics.

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India face Commonwealth Games worries

Gordon Farquhar | 19:52 UK time, Monday, 6 September 2010

India's preparations have been unusually fraught. The organisers have pretty much proved the old adage of "what can go wrong will go wrong".

There have been , and there remain concerns that some stadium safety certificates might not be in hand in time for all the events to be held.

There's been the inevitable political wrangling, allegations of corruption, changes of personnel, and problems with sponsors pulling out.

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