Water supply unsatisfactory
From Our Correspondent

SOHANA, Nov 15 — Low water pressure and insufficient supply of drinking water have been the bane of Sohana for a long time.

The residents in this township have often to wait for days for fresh water to flow from the taps. No new pipes have been laid in the past several years.

Mr Bachan Singh, a local resident, said water was supplied to the area for less than five hours in a day. The problem, he said, became more acute when the pumps developed snags, and it took days to repair the fault and resume normal functioning. Residents also complained that they had to rely upon hand pumps in the absence of appropriate water supply. They fear outbreak of water-borne diseases as they are forced to use untreated water.

According to sources, the problem cannot be solved unless the pipes are changed. The pipe lines were laid long ago according to the requirement at that time but the population has since increased.

Badminton facilities poor
By Arvind Katyal

CHANDIGARH, Nov 15 — Panchkula has so far lagged behind in sport infrastructure, though performaces of players have been satisfactory compared to the facilities available.

Badminton is being played at one court indoor hall at Sector 7 Community Centre of the Haryana Urban Development Authority with table tennis, boxing and yoga also having coaching centres on its premises. This hall has got polyvinyl flooring, which is not the right kind for this game. It has a seating capacity for 100 persons.

The Tara Chand memorial badminton has got North India status with top players from various states vying for top honours. Last year a prize money to the tune of 1 lakh was distributed among players. The Haryana state mini and matches for schools of the city were also conducted here.

Players are ranked second in the state after Bhiwani. Coach Ravinder Kapoor has given fillip to badminton in the city. Promising players include Gaurika, Preetika Sharma, Smriti, Sachin Garg, Piyush, Vikrant, Gaurav, Saurav Kapoor, Pallavi Aggarwal, Anshul and Akshit Mahajan. The achievement graph has been on rise, says Mr Tuli.

Despite the sanction for two separate indoor halls, one in the Sector 9 Community Centre, and the other in the Sector 3 Sports Complex, none is heading towards progress. A sum of 92.75 lakh was sanctioned in April for the Sector 3 Sports Complex.

Players in Panchkula sometimes have to go to Chandigarh. The DBA, Panchkula, has been trying to uplift the game. The head of the Haryana Olympic Association, Mr Abhey Chautala, is taking interest in sport. Unless emphasis is laid on infrastructure, the morale of players and officials may not remain high.