Wikimania 2013 bids/Delhi

Wikimania 2013 candidate cities:

Final Candidate Cities: Hong Kong | London

Other Candidate Cities: Surakarta | Bristol | Naples

Wikimania 2013 candidate cities:

Final Candidate Cities: Hong Kong | London

Other Candidate Cities: Surakarta | Bristol | Naples

Delhi, locally pronounced as Dilli, is the capital city of Republic of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. NCT is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,235 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census.

• Country:India
• City proposed:Delhi
• Proposed dates:Mid-February
• Contact person(s):Vaibhav Jain (User:Vibhijain) (vibhijainyahooin}

Introduction

Our City

Delhi on Wikipedia: English, Afrikaans, العربية, Български, Català, Česky, Deutsc, Español, فارسی, Français, עברית, हिन्दी, Italiano, 日本語, Polski, Português, Русский, Tiếng Việt, 中文

An International City: Delhi is the center of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Delhi hosts 134 embassies/high commissions. Delhi is a home to many immigrant communities, like Burmese Chin, Afghans, Bangladeshis, Nepalis, Sri Lankans, Filipinos, Israelis (known as Delhi Jewry), Koreans, Mongolians (Most students), Singaporeans, Anglo-Indians, French people, Germans, Australians, Brazilians, Somalis, Ugandans and Tibetans. Delhi is also religiously diverse, with 80% Hindus, 10% Muslims, 7.9% Sikhs, 1.1% Jains, 0.9% Christians and 0.1% Baha'i Populations and minority communities of Parsis, Anglo-Indians, Buddhists and Jews.

Sightseeing: There are countless opportunities for sightseeing in Delhi. There are three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Delhi, Qutub Minar, Red Fort and Humayun's Tomb, and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Taj Mahal is also near to Delhi. Delhi provides a range of tourist attractions, such as Rashtrapati Bhawan, India Gate, Akshardham Temple, Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Humayun's Tomb, Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Salimgarh Fort, Chandni Chowk, Cathedral Church of Redemption, Jama Masjid, Raj Ghat, Shanti Vana, Lotus Temple, Purana Quila, Tughlaqabad, Jantar Mantar, Safdarjung's Tomb, Lodhi Gardens, Nizamuddin Dargah, Sansad Bhavan, National Museum, St. James' Church, Connaught Place and Laxminarayan Temple.

Food: Punjabi and Mughlai delicacies like kababs and biryanis are popular in Delhi. The street food there is known to be delicious and includes chaat, golgappe and aloo tikki. Due to Delhi's large cosmopolitan and migrant population, cuisines from every part of India, including Gujarati, Rajasthani, Maharashtrian, Bengali, Hyderabadi cuisines, and South Indian food items like idli, sambar and dosa are widely available. Local delicacies include Chaat, Golgappe, Aloo-Tikki and Dahi-Papri. There are several food outlets in Delhi serving international cuisine, including Italian, Japanese, Continental, Middle-Eastern, Thai and Chinese.

Conference venue

• brief description of venue (room sizes, number of rooms etc.)

1. Main hall:
2. Seminar rooms:
3. Lounge facilities:
4. Other rooms (organisation, staff, speakers, interviews/press, storage):

• Socializing areas (Garden, lounge etc.), their capacity and the hours at which they are opened/closed:
• Contacts with conference venue (emails, price quotes etc.)

• Technical facilities
  • Existing technical installations

    (on site Audio-visual...)

  • Wireless Network implementation

(existing? to be built? easiness of implementation?)

Accommodation

• Location of main accommodation facilities

(where can the attendees be hosted. On site, off site, how far from conference venue? For attendees? For VIPs?)

• Room details and price range

(What's the accommodation like? Dorms, B&B, Hotel? Singles, doubles? How much does it cost per person and per day?)

• Catering (one meal a day, breakfast is a plus)

(Where do we eat, how much it costs)

• Contacts with accommodation partner(s)

(Have you contacted the proposed locations, exchange of emails, price quotes etc.)

Party opportunities

Wikimania traditionally hosts two parties, one for attendees (capacity of 250-350) and one for sponsors and VIPs (capacity 40-60).

• Attendees party(ies) propositions

(location, how to get there, what's cool and relaxed about it)

• Sponsor party(ies) proposition

(location, how to get there, what's chic and high profile about it)

Travel and transportation

• Estimation of travel costs from all continents:Low fare flights available from most countries
• Distance from international airport(s)and how do we get to the location:International Airport is located in the city.
• Local transportation and local social opportunities:India is a strategic location and Delhi is the most well contacted city in India and also being the capital, it contains various ethnic groups.

Delhi transport Cooperation is the biggest CNG Buses chain in this World. Every kind of food is available and good transportation options are available.

Visa issues

Citizens of Nepal and Bhutan do not require visa to enter India and citizens of Maldives do not require visa for entry in India for a period up to 90 days (a separate Visa regime exists for diplomatic/official passport holders). Wikimedians who prefer to stay only for the duration of the conference can apply for Conference Visa. They will need letter of invitation from the organiser, which would be provied by the organizing team on request. If someone wishes to travel around Delhi or India after the Wikimania, he/she can apply for Tourist Visa an can stay in India for 6 months. One requires documents supporting his/her financial standing. People with Tourist Visa are eligible for Tourist Visa on Arrival scheme if they meet the following conditions:

• Citizens with valid passports of the following countries:

Cambodia, Finland, Indonesia, Japan , Laos, Luxembourg, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam.

• Fulfills all other criteria for grant of normal tourist visa to India like assured financial

standing (production of return ticket and proof of availability of sufficient funds to spend in India), passport of at least six month validity and reentry permit if required.

If one avails this scheme, he/she can stay in India for a short period of upto a maximum of 30 days.

Generally the following documents are required for obtaining Indian Visa. However, the requirement may vary from country to country.

1. Original passport valid for at least 6 months
2. Visa fee
3. Two passport size photographs
4. Supporting documents, where necessary
5. Duly completed application form

Visa application form is available at the office of Indian Embassy/ High Commission/Consulate in the country where the applicant resides. Visa form for nationals of Pakistan and Bangladesh are generally different. All applicants, including children need to apply for Visa in separate visa forms.

Persons of Indian Origins and Non-Resident Indians who possess either OCI (Overseas Indian Citizenship) or PIO card don't need to apply separately for an Indian Visa. OCI and PIO cards give them the freedom to visit India without visa within rules. However, those NRIs and PIOs who don’t have OCI or PIO card can apply for and get Indian visa through the procedure mentioned above.

Disclaimer: The above is only for information. You are requested to contact the nearest Indian Mission (Embassy/ High Commission/ Consulate) or visit their websites for up-to-date information regarding visas, fees, procedures, etc.

Tourism opportunities

Please see #Our City

Getting to Delhi

Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) serves Delhi for both domestic and international connections, and is situated in the southwestern corner of the city, alongside Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. In the year 2006-2007, IGI recorded a traffic of 20.44 million passengers. It is currently the busiest airport in South Asia. It operates two terminals — Terminal 1 for domestic and Terminal 2 for international air travel.

The airport is witnessing massive expansion and modernisation by a consortium led by GMR. The airport will get a new integrated Terminal 3 by 2010. Terminals 4, 5 and 6 will be built in a phased manner. By 2024, airport will have four runways and will handle more than 100 million passengers per year, which is more than what Atlanta airport (world's busiest airport) handles now.

Apart from the expanded IGI airport, Delhi might also receive a second airport by 2012-2013. The airport, being named as Taj International Aviation Hub, is proposed be located in Jewar in Greater Noida. It would be 75 km from IGI airport.

Getting around

Delhi has significant reliance on its transport infrastructure. The city has developed a highly efficient public transport system with the introduction of the Delhi Metro, which is undergoing a rapid modernization and expansion. Public transport in the metropolis includes the Delhi Metro, the Delhi Transport Corporation bus system, auto-rickshaws, cycle-rickshaws and taxis. With the introduction of Delhi Metro, a rail-based mass rapid transit system, rail-based transit systems have gained ground. Other means of transit include suburban railways, inter-state bus services and private taxis which can be rented for various purposes.

The Delhi government is planning to have 413 km of metro, 292 km of BRT, and 50 km each of monorail and light rail by 2020.

Currently, the only international service to Delhi is the Samjhauta Express to Lahore, while it is possible to change trains to board rail services to Bangladesh and Nepal which commence in other cities of India. In the future, a high-speed rail link is being considered that would link New Delhi with Kunming, China via Myanmar.

Road Transport

Transportation dependent upon roads. At 1749 km of road length per 100 km², Delhi has one of the highest road densities in India. Major roadways include the Ring Road and the Outer Ring Road, which had a traffic density of 110,000 vehicles per day in 2001. Total road length of Delhi was 28,508 km including 388 km of National Highways. Major road-based public transport facilities in Delhi are provided by DTC buses, auto-rickshaws, taxis and cycle-rickshaws.

Buses

The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) operates the world's largest fleet of CNG-powered buses. After Pune, Delhi was the second city in India to have an operational Bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

Delhi has one of India's largest bus transport systems. Buses are the most popular means of transport catering to about 60% of Delhi's total demand. Buses are operated by the state-owned Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), which owns largest fleet of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-fueled buses in the world, private Blueline bus operators and several chartered bus operators. The buses traverse various well-defined intra-city routes. Other than regular routes, buses also travel on Railway Special routes; Metro Feeder routes. Mudrika (Ring) and Bahri Mudrika (Outer Ring) routes along Ring and Outer-Ring road respectively are amongst the longest intra-city bus routes in the world.

With the introduction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the development of dedicated corridors for the service, bus service is set to improve. The DTC has started introducing air-conditioned buses and brand new low-floor buses (with floor height of 400 mm and even higher on one third area as against 230 mm available internationally.) on city streets to replace the conventional buses. A revamp plan is underway to improve bus-shelters in the city and to integrate GPS systems in DTC buses and bus stops so as to provide reliable information about bus arrivals.

Auto-Rickshaws

The auto-rickshaws (popularly known as Auto) are an important and popular means of public transportation in Delhi, as they are cheaper than taxis.

Taxis

Though easily available, taxis are not an integral part of Delhi public transport. The Indian Tourism Ministry and various private owners operate most taxis. The Tourism Ministry grants private companies permits to operate taxis. Recently, Radio Taxis have started to gain ground in Delhi. Brands such as Mega Cabs, EasyCabs, etc., provide the on-call radio taxi service, which is slightly more expensive than conventional Black and Yellow taxis. Other than these two mentioned, companies such as Hertz Car Rental and Avis Car Rental provide rent-a-car service.

One can use a service at http://www.cabgurgaon.com/ and http://www.taxiautofare.com to calculate the Taxi And Auto fares in Delhi. The user has to enter in the source and destination. The service gives the estimated taxi and auto fare as well as a Google Map that shows the route.

Cycle-Rickshaws

Cycle-Rickshaws are a popular mode of travel for short distance transits in the city. The pedal-powered rickshaws are easily available throughout the city and reckoned for being cheap and environment friendly. Its a great way for joyrides for tourists.

Rail transport

Rail based transport in the city has started to gain-popularity with the introduction of Delhi Metro. Ring-Railway, which runs parallel to the Ring-Road system is another rail-based intra-city transport facility in Delhi.

Metro

Rapid increase of population coupled with large-scale immigration due to high economic growth has resulted in ever increasing demand for better transport, putting excessive pressure on the city's existent transport infrastructure. Like many other cities in the developing world, the city faces acute transport management problems leading to air pollution, congestion and resultant loss of productivity. In order to meet the transportation demand in Delhi, the State and Union government started the construction of an ambitious Mass Rapid Transit system, known as [1] Delhi Metro in 1998. The project started commercial operations on December 24, 2002. It has set many performance and efficiency standards ever since and is continuously expanding at a very rapid pace. As of 2010, the metro operates 5 lines with a total length of 190 km and 132 stations while several other lines are under construction.

Description of three Delhi Metro lines that currently operate as of April, 2010:

Delhi Metro lines in operation

Name	Number	Terminals	Length (km)	Stations	Rolling stock
Red	1	Dilshad Garden – Rithala	25.09
Yellow	2	Jahangirpuri – HUDA City Centre	45
Blue	3	Noida City Centre – Yamuna Bank – Dwarka Sector 9	47.40	42	43 trains
	4	Yamuna Bank – Anand Vihar	6.25	5	4 trains
Green	5	Inderlok – Mundka	15.15

Violet line is also operational- from Badarpur to Central Secretariat

The second phase (Phase II) which is under construction has 128 km of route length and the completion is scheduled for September 2010 just before the CWG Phases III (112 km) and IV (108.5 km) will be completed by 2015 and 2020 respectively, with the network totalling 413.8 km, making it longer than the London Underground. With further development of the city, the network will be further expanded by adding new lines, thus crossing 500 km by 2020.

Inter-state transport

Railway connectivity

Delhi is connected to whole of the nation through Indian Railways vast network. New Delhi Railway Station which is one of the most busiest stations in Indian Railway system serves as headquarter of Northern Railways. A large load of inter-state transport is borne by railways. Major railway stations in the city include New Delhi Railway Station, Old Delhi Railway Station, Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, Sarai Rohilla and Anand Vihar Railway Terminal. A large number of local passenger trains connect Delhi to its sub-urban areas and thus provide convenient travel for daily commuters. Railways also share a large amount of freight traffic in Delhi.

Road

• Highways:The city is believed to have highest road density in the country and is well connected to rest of the nation through five major national highways, namely NH 1, NH 2, NH 8, NH 10 and NH 24. The highways around city are being upgraded into expressways with ultra-modern facilities.

• Bus services:Regular bus services are available from inter-state bus terminals in the city. The services are extended to all the northern states and the neighbouring areas of Delhi. Services are provided by state transport corporations and several private operators.

Embassies

Washington has embassies for most nations. This not only means readily available consular services for visitors from these nations, but also a chance to reach out to these nations and seek their involvement in Wikimania.

List of Embassies/High Commissions in Delhi can be found here.

Local sponsorship opportunities

Possibility of local sponsorships

• Contacts

(no name needed, just "company X, 4000 USD or will provide 300 beds)

Local team

• Vaibhav Jain
• Mayur
• Krant
• --Ashish Bhatnagar
• Odisha1
• Noopur28
• We can organize a Wikimania easily in Delhi or Calcutta. I have been a part of organizing relatively large events, and I guess India has the capacity to organize a Wikimania with help from other chapters and Wikipedians. And the point is everyone I met in Wikimania wants to visit India. I will help you, Sou Boyy, Email: sourendra.das@gmail.com

Miscellaneous

Delhi is a attractive option for encouraging Indian users. Wikimedia India's office will be situated in Delhi. Delhi is connected to the whole of India and it is also a attractive option for other South Asian countries.

Self-evaluation

• Weaknesses of the proposed location ...and how to overcome those weaknesses

1. Small Community

   Delhi has a small Wikipedia Community as compared to other Indian cities but I believe that a major community will grow in Delhi by 2013 due to the formation of local chapter.

• Strengths of the proposed location

1. Strategic location
2. Well connected
3. Major Tourist site
4. Various ethnic groups
5. Major Student city
6. Relatively cost-efficient area
7. Close to Major media and Government
8. Best Candidate for the WikiCapital of India