HEALTH

Two lakh kids to get polio drops in Sonepat
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, May 25
More than two lakh children, below five, will be administered pulse polio drops in Sonepat district on June 1 during the countrywide immunisation campaign, according to Mr Balwan Singh, Deputy Commissioner. He told mediapersons here today that the health department has made elaborate arrangement to make the campaign a success. As many as 675 polio centres would be set up in the urban and rural areas of the district.

He said that 2,852 employees would be deployed for giving the drops. They would also be monitored by 100 inspection teams.

As many as 15 mobile teams will go round the railway stations and bus stands for this purpose. Moreover, 42 other mobile teams would be set up to cover the children living in the slums, brick kilns and labour colonies.

According to the DC, 79 vehicles are being provided to the mobile teams in the district. Special booths would be set up at various places to administer the drops to the children of travellers passing through the district.

The Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme (PPIP) which was launched in 1995 throughout the country, envisages the eradication of the crippling disease by the end of the millennium. The deadly disease called polio in short, can strike at any age but generally affects the children below three years.

The virus enters the body through mouth and affects the central nervous system of the body, crippling a person for life, with no possible cure.

The DC claimed that the previous campaigns launched by the health department in coordination with the voluntary organisations in the district, had proved a success.

SPORTS

India A team: A mixed bag for Haryana
A. Gulati

Rohtak, May 25
The news of the selection of England-bound India ‘A’ squad was received with mixed reactions of joy and disappointment at the cricket coaching camp, being organised here by the Haryana Cricket Association.

Right arm leg spinner Amit Mishra and wicket keeper Ajay Ratra were the two Haryana cricketers expecting a berth in the team. But the selectors could oblige the spinner only. The Haryana stumper, who had lost the No. 1 keepers’ slot to Parthiv Patel last year, could not find selectors’ nod, which in fact curtailed the degree of jubilation in the camp. Talking to the NCR Tribune here today, both Ratra and Mishra conceded that they were expecting a call for the tour.

Mishra’s inclusion is not a matter of surprise, as the leggie had been able to attract attention of the national selectors earlier also. Besides representing Indian ‘A’ teams against Sri Lanka and South Africa, he won a place in the India team for the first two Tests against West Indies last year.

Unfortunately, he could not play in the final eleven. However, he kept on doing well on the domestic circuit. In the recently concluded session, Mishra got 32 wickets from six Ranji matches representing Haryana, which helped him to find a berth in the team.

Mishra expressed happiness at the selectors’ decision, saying that the forthcoming trip would be a new lesson for me. “Playing in England is considered to be the most useful experience,” said Mishra.

At the same time, Ajay Ratra accepted the selectors’ verdict as a true sportsman. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a berth in the England bound squad. “Yes, I was hopeful of getting a place in the team.” In fact, the young Haryana stumper has been getting a raw deal at the hands of selectors. It is a matter of sheer surprise that a person who started with a big promise as a wicket keeper and went on to score a Test saving hundred against West Indies at St. Antigua and thereafter earned a place in Indian team for the full tour of England, was omitted from the selection of India ‘A’ team. Earlier, the selectors had dropped him from the Rest of India team for the Irani Cup tie, held in the last quarter of the year 2002.

The selectors did not field him in the final eleven after picking him along with Parthiv Patel in the Board President’s XI team for the match against West Indies at Bangalore.

The concept of India ‘A’ team was conceived to give exposure to the budding cricketers with a view to prepare a second line of defence. The selection of Pathiv Patel for wicket keeper’s slot in the India ‘A’ team sounds a bit surprising, as he has already been accepted as a great asset for Indian team by the selectors. Ratra, who still has a lot of cricket left for him and whose wicket keeping abilities are considered at par with those of Parthiv Patel, has been denied a chance to stage a comeback in the national squad.

Air Sahara tie with South Delhi Colts
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, May 25
Air Sahara tied with South Delhi Colts in the 27th Lala Raghubir Singh Cricket Tournament at the Modern School ground, Barakhamba Road. Both the teams scored 230 runs each in the stipulated 40 overs. However, Sahara won the spin of coin to pip South Delhi Colts into the quarter-final.

South Delhi Colts won the toss and opted to field. Air Sahara, who were down in the dumps when they lost four wickets for 24 runs, staged a remarkable recovery through an electrifying knock of 80, off 40 balls with eleven boundaries and two sixes, by Vikas Chandan and a quick 54 in as many balls with three fours and two sixes by Kapil Mehta to post 230 for 9 in 40 overs.

And as if taking a cue, South Delhi Colts also put on a matching performance, with Nishal Gaur, Raj Kapoor, Sant Ram and Manish Chawla leading the run chase to make 230 for the loss of eight wickets in 40 overs, to tie the match.

Vikas Chandan was named the man of the match for his fine knock.

Scores: Air Sahara: 230 for 9 in 40 overs (Vikas Chandan 80, 11x4, 2x6, 40b; Kapil Mehta 54, 3x4, 2x6, 54b; Deepak Bhatnagar 46, 2x4, 80b; Ashish Anand 3 for 28, Amanjit Singh 3 for 33, Sant Ram 3 for 53).

South Delhi Colts: 230 for 8 in 40 overs (Nischal Gaur 67, 6x4, 3x6, 68b; Raj Kapoor 38 n o, 5x4; Sant Ram 33, 3x4, 1x6m 26b; Manish Chawla 27, 3x4; Jagjit Singh 2 for 40, Kapil Mehta 1 for 27, Surinder Dyma 1 for 38).

Monday’s fixture: Karma vs ONGC; 7.30 a m—Modern School ground.

Tarun, Yogesh slam tons for Salwan Boys
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, May 25
An unbeaten 126 by Tarun Chaudhary and a dashing 100 by Yogesh Nagar helped Salwan Boys School beat Pelican Club by 211 runs in a DDCA Under-15 Cricket Tournament match at the Bharat Nagar ground.

Scores: Salwan Boys: 327 for 4 in 40 overs (Tarun Chaudhary 126 n o, Yogesh Nagar 100, Subhog Singh 2 for 91).

Pelican: 116 all out in 39 overs (Varun Chakravarty 49, Yogesh Nagar 3 for 7, Sawan Saini 2 for 32). 

Bright Club beat Hansraj Smarak School by 103 runs at the Kalindi College ground.

Scores: Bright Club: 198 for 6 in 40 overs (Sumit Kundu 107 n o, Anmol Kumar 26). 

Hansraj Smarak: 95 all out in 28.5 overs (Rahul Rawat 27, Arnav Kush 2 for 12, Sumit Kundu 2 for 16).

Young Friends beat Modern School (Vasant Vihar) by 33 runs at the Modern School ground.

Scores: Young Friends: 169 all out in 39.1 overs (Pramod Gupta 30, Jayant Yadav 28, Ankit Maini 28 n o, Prashant Gupta 26, Ishan Bakshi 5 for 49, Aditya Jain 3 for 40).

Modern School: 136 for 8 in 40 overs (Dhruv Kholi 44, Ankit Maini 3 for 28, Rohan Acharya 2 for 13).

Delhi Administration to take on AIIMS in soccer opener
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, May 25
Delhi Administration will take on All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the opening match of the Delhi Soccer Association Institutional Football League Championship, beginning at the Ambedkar Stadium on Monday at 4 pm. Food Corporation of India (Headquarters) will meet Punjab National Bank in the second match at 5.15 pm.

Twenty-one institutional teams are taking part in the league. Holders Delhi Audit, runners-up Oriental Bank of Commerce, Food Corporation of India (North Zone), Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Northern Railway, Zakir Hussain College, Urban Development Ministry, Punjab National Bank, Central Secretariat and FCI (Hq) will participate in the Senior Division while Delhi Development Authority, Bank of India, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., IGPCL, AIIMS, Indian Airlines, Railway Board and Customs and Central Excise will play in the A Division.

The bottom two teams of the Senior Division will be relegated while the top two teams of the A Division will be promoted. The matches will be played on a league-cum-knockout basis.

ADMINISTRATION

MC the loser as govt scraps NOCs for property transfer
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, May 25
The Sonepat Municipal Council is likely to lose a huge revenue following the state government decision to scrap the condition of getting `no objection certificate’ from the civic bodies for the transfer of immovable property in the state.

According to a report, the new decision of the state government has provided a great relief to the house owners, land owners and property dealers, who had to face great hardships and dole out money for procuring NOCs from the civic bodies.

Previously, the plot holders were required to pay Rs 120 per square yard as development charges to the Sonepat Municipal Council for getting the NOCs. Between July last year and March this year, the council had earned Rs 77 lakh as development charges by issuing NOCs to 536 plot/house owners. The council had estimated only Rs 65 lakh on this account but it had collected Rs 12 lakh more.

The state government has already authorised the principals and the headmasters of the government schools in this district and elsewhere to issue domicile certificates to the students for taking admission to various technical education institutions or for higher education purposes. This has provided a great relief to the parents who had to approach the district administration for this purpose.

Since the abolition of Octroi, the Sonepat Municipal Council had been facing a financial crisis as over Rs 1 crore was lost annually on this account. As a result, it has failed to take development works in various parts of the city as well as disburse salary to its employees on time.

However, it has undertaken the development works after the receipt of central assistance or the financial assistance under the ‘Sarkar Aap Ke Dwar’ programme launched by the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala.