Murli Deora tours Commonwealth Games village

Expressing solidarity with the upcoming Commonwealth Games, petroleum minister Murli Deora today made a surprise tour of the games village, the first visit by a minister, apart from the organisers, to the venue which houses the participating sportsmen.

"My visit is to show solidarity to the CWG, its organisers and the Delhi government. Hosting such games is an honour and as Indians we should be proud of it," he told PTI after reaching the Games Village, which houses sportsmen from different nations participating in the multi-sport event.

Deora had last week led heads of Navratna oil PSUs under his ministry to Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit in show of support for her efforts in organising the event.

After the September 24 meeting, huge billboards showcasing CWG games sprung up at petrol pumps and CNG filling stations around the capital. 

"We must do whatever we can to make these games a grand success," he said.

The Oil PSUs have also been roped in to bail out public broadcaster Doordarshan -- the official telecaster of the 12-
day Commonwealth Games, which was not finding many advertisers.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will buy air-time during the telecast of the Games between October 3 and 14. 

Lack of advertisers interest has already forced Prasar Bharti, which administers Doordarshan, to halve the revenue target from ad slots during the Games to Rs100 crore.

"I had taken ONGC chairman and managing director RS
Sharma, IOC chairman BM Bansal and GAIL chairman and managing director BC Tripathi to Sheila Dikshitji and promised all
support," Deora said.

ONGC will buy air-time worth Rs5 crore and IOC Rs1.5 crore.