Delhi welcomes Queen's Baton Relay

New Delhi, Sep 30 (India Report)
The beleagured Organising Committee (OC) chairman, Suresh Kalmadi, almost had a fall, as the Queen&aposs Baton was received by Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Tejender Khanna and Chief Minister of Delhi Shiela Dikshit in a chaotic and reverberating atmosphere here today.
Just after the function while making his way to the dining hall amid the flurry of guests, mediapersons and volunteers, Kalmadi&aposs shoes got stuck under carpet but securitymen prevented him from falling down.
The function began at the OC headquarters with Games mascot&aposShera&aposwelcoming the guests. Then Dronacharya awardee Satpal Singh handed the baton to Dixit and Khanna with Kalmadi by their side.
With maestro A R Rahman&aposs CWG theme song&aposJiyo Utho Badho Jiyo&aposblasting from the thousand watts JVL speakers, Kalmadi placed the Baton on the dais as volunteers cheered on, waving the tri-colour.
Everybody present there wanted to be a part of the occasion as they jostled for space with camerapersons breaking their cue. And it was chaos all around at the OC hall during the function that went on for an hour. Notwithstanding the chaos, the CWG theme song and Shera song did generate some emotion as everybody joined in chorus.
Welcoming the Baton, Dixit said,"The baton is here. The Games have arrived to our country. We want to spread this energy all over Delhi and the country. We wish our guests and athletes a very happy stay. We are trying to do our best. Happy Commonwealth Happy days ahead"
Kalmadi said,"The journey has begun in London and it&aposs here without a single incident. There is going to be a great opening ceremony. We had seen the advent of colour television during the 1982 Asiad, now we are bracing up for new technology (HDTV) during the CWG.
"It&aposs everybody&aposs Games. Everybody should enjoy the opening ceremony which is going to be a treat to watch. If you don&apost get tickets, you should catch up on television."
The dignitaries at the occasion were also presented with a replica of the baton.
Earlier, at the Delhi border, Queen&aposs Baton Relay (QBR) was received by Arvinder Singh Lovely and Cabinet secretary Rakesh Mehta from government officials of Haryana.
The Baton completed its 20,000-km journey across 28 Indian states and seven union territories.