Change in the air

A project immensely more ambitious than Dilli's Commonwealth Games, and daresay far more useful, has got rolling ufffd without the fuss and delays associated with the Games.

A project immensely more ambitious than Dilli's Commonwealth Games, and daresay far more useful, has got rolling ufffd without the fuss and delays associated with the Games. The Unique Identification Authority of the India, under the redoubtable Nandan Nilekani, has kicked off its ID card project in a quiet, remote tribal corner of Maharashtra. Dilli is now hoping that it turns out to be every bit as transforming as envisaged.

Charged with the task of providing unique IDs to 1.2 billion Indians, Nilekani and his 120-member team clearly are ready to face their biggest challenge: how to reach every citizen in the country.

Nilekani however is confident of reaching 100 million people by March next year. Another challenge perhaps would be silencing the skeptics and outright opponents who now fear they'll be thrown off the gravy train with the introduction of UID.

Bird's eye view
It was not quite the grand inauguration as envisaged by the organisers, but the latest addition to Delhi's skyline still made local headlines primarily for the non-appearance of chief guest Shah Rukh Khan. Further drama, Bollywood-style, was provided by cops who called off the event, and forced a disappointed public to turn away, leading to the inevitable stampede and traffic jam!

Still, it is hoped that the Delhi Eye ufffd a 45-metre giant wheel, which offers spectacular views of the capital to visitors ufffd will become a popular landmark in its own right, even if it is a pale shadow of the famous London Eye and Singapore Flyer ufffd unlike the recently constructed stadia which will be out of bounds for most people after the Games.

Of course, Dilli's joy may be short-lived, since the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has its own plans for a 200-metre tall wheel at Land's End, though not much has been heard of this plan since it was announced in 2008. But, for now, it's an 'Eye'-catching time in Dilli.