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Tooting of many types

Tooting of many types in countdown to Commonwealth Games

Moving around Delhi is a tricky business, but my taxi driver Mr B has been on the road for 30 years and knows how to negotiate his way across the city – Commonwealth Games or not.

The traffic is dense – with auto-rickshaws, bicycles, motorbikes, cars and lorries all vying to fit into the smallest space that can accommodate them.  There is scant regard for lane markings and like everyone else, Mr B is weaving in and out of the traffic, tooting and blasting his horn.

This morning, a trip from my hotel to the official Commonwealth Games media centre took nearly two hours.

Security is tight and highly visible. Across the city, a reported 100,000 police have been deployed around Games’ venues, major hotels and subway stations. Later today three judges will give their verdict on a 60-year-old legal dispute over whether a temple predated a mosque in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya.  Political leaders and Bollywood stars have appealed for calm ahead of the ruling. India appears to  be taking no chances with security.

Meanwhile, the beautification of Delhi is continuing ahead of Sunday’s opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Along the main roads, rows of plants are being removed from their plastic pots and dug into the soil. Late last night, workers were busy applying fresh paint to road markings outside the hotel.

Newspapers here are still reporting last minute hitches, but there is also a growing mood of anticipation and excitement with all 71 teams due on site today.

The Games are good business for Mr B – and as I type this, I can hear the blast of another Commonwealth horn altogether: the South African vuvuzela has hit town!

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