The Games originally slated to be held in May will now be held from October 4 to 14 at Imphal, Manipur, according to Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi. Though the IOA led by its president and secretary-general were confident of the Games being held on `schedule' in October, but some members of the executive committee have expressed doubts about that. They were in the Capital to attend the meeting which was held today morning.

For starters, some state associations have already made it known to the IOA that arrangements be made for athletes to fly to Imphal from Calcutta. For not only is a train journey -- or any other mode -- tedious, but it is also unsafe.

But Kalmadi brushed aside all apprehensions saying everything was fine. And for effect, he used the case of the recent Winter National Games inGulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir. "They were a big success, despite doubts from some quarters," he said.

As for the infrastructure, Kalmadi said the preparations were in full swing. He expected the stadia and other facilities including the Games village to be ready by the month-end. Kalmadi and some other IOA officials visited Imphal to take stock of the situation and said they were satisfied.

``The infrastructure is good and comparable to those in Pune and Bangalore,'' he said and a lot of technical equipment has been imported to maintain a high standard.

On other issues, Kalmadi said the IOA has decided to take up with the Prime Minister and the Union HRD Minister the question of enhancing allocation to Sports which had remained stagnant at Rs. 70 crores. He expected some announcements to be made at this year's budget.

The IOA executive committee meeting has also decided that the 2000 Winter Games will be held in Manali (Himachal Pradesh), while Auli (Uttar Pradesh) will host the 2002 Games.