Sold: Rs 57-crore Commonwealth Games’ aerostat to Goa for Re. 1

After snuggling in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for close to two years, the Rs 57-crore aerostat, used for creating special effects during the 2012 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, has been sold to the Goa government for a token amount of Re 1.

Zeenews Sports Bureau

New Delhi: After snuggling in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for close to two years, the Rs 57-crore aerostat, used for creating special effects during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, has been sold to the Goa government for a token amount of Re 1. The aerostat made headlines after the government was unable to find any takers for it. It was used during the opening and closing ceremonies of the CWG. At last, it has been bought by the Goa government for the upcoming Lusofonia Games in November that will see a participation of 12 Portuguese-speaking countries “We had written to the Sports Ministry a month back, expressing our willingness to buy the aerostat. Since the Games are still a few months away, we have not decided on its exact use,” Keshav Chandra, Secretary (Sports), Goa was quoted as saying by The Indian Express on Sunday. It has been sold at a token amount as the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports cannot charge anything from a government agency. The aerostat was purchased from an Italian firm and was first offered to Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The DRDO rejected it saying it had no use of it and since then it was lying dormant in the JLN stadium in Delhi.