New Delhi, Aug 25 : The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CGOC) finally announced the sale of tickets at outlets for spectators with less than 40 days to go for the Games. The launch of tickets was earlier scheduled for Aug 1.

The sale of online tickets had started June 4.

Lalit Bhanot, secretary general of CGOC, dismissed reports that there are not enough tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies for the common man.

He said that 60,000 tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are meant for the common man.

The cheapest tickets cost Rs.1,000 while the other denominations are Rs.5,000, Rs.25,000 and Rs.50,000.

Around 30 retail outlets are opened in Delhi/NCR of Hero Honda, Central Bank of India, IRCTC, STC Branch for the sale of tickets. People who have already bought tickets can redeem their vouchers against actual tickets at the various outlets across Delhi and NCR.

The tickets would also ensure free transportation for spectators in Delhi Metro and buses run by Delhi Transport Corporation on the day of the event.

The CGOC has also reserved 0.5 percent of the total inventory for disabled spectators.

They can purchase their tickets from the IRCTC outlets or through the call centre.

The tickets have been printed at the India Security Press which also prints currency notes the Government of India. To protect them from being counterfeited, the tickets have been printed on the same paper used for printing currency.

"We are expecting the overall sale of tickets to be around 17 lakh. The ticket sales have been good so far and all the tickets will be made available for the public," said Bhanot. (IANS)