SPORTS

Rural sports meet from Aug 25
Our Sports Reporter

The meet is an annual feature, according to Mr G.S. Saini, convener, tournament committee. It draws huge crowds and is organised during Janamashtmi and Guga Maddi mela. The events to be organised are kabaddi circle style (37 kg, 42 kg, 55 kg and 65 kg) and athletic events.

Scribes’ body

Sports scribes, working with various dailies and agencies in the city recently formed body named the Sports Journalists Association Chandigarh. Gagan Sethi (Amar Ujala) and Subhash Rajta (Hindustan Times) were elected president and secretary, respectively, of the association.

The other office-bearers of the association are as follows:

Balbir Singh (UNI) patron, Prashant Rai Chaudhary (Dainik Bhaskar) senior vice-president, Ikhlaq Singh Aujla (Indian Express) and Akash Ghai (The Tribune) vice-presidents, Rakesh Jha (Times of India) and Amit Gautam (Punjab Kesari) joint secretaries and Umesh (Dainik Bhaskar) treasurer.

The executive members of the body include Navneet Singh (Hindustan Times), Arvind Katyal (The Tribune), G.S. Paul (The Tribune), Aseem Bassi (Hindustan Times), Jaswinder Kaur (Dainik Bhaskar), Sandeep Narayan (Indian Express) and Jatinder Singh Yadav (Dainik Jagran).

Boxing referee

Dr (Miss) Sonia Kanwar, has been selected to represent India as referee during the 3rd Asian Women Boxing Championship to be held at Kaohsiung ( Taiwan) from August 3 to 7. She has also been selected by the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation, approved by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of India, to attend the seminar of the International Women Boxing Officials during the championship.

Chandigarh, August 3
The Excise and Taxation Department of the Chandigarh Administration has registered an “unprecedented” increase of Rs 26 crore in tax collection under various Acts during the first quarter of the current financial year as compared to the corresponding period last financial year, an official press note said here today.

A substantial increase of over 22 per cent, 31 per cent, seven per cent and six per cent has been registered under sales tax, excise tax, passenger and goods tax and entertainment tax and show tax, respectively.

The Department has earned an additional amount of over Rs 26 crore.

Stating this here today, Mr S.K. Sandhu, Finance Secretary-cum-Excise and Taxation Commissioner, informed that concerted efforts had yielded results.

Buoyed by the increase, the department has decided to focus attention on completely computerising its records. Intensive training of manpower would also be undertaken.

He informed that under the Sales Tax Act, total collections for the quarter ending June 30 was Rs 108.83 crore as against Rs 89.89 crore for the corresponding period of 2004-05.

Similarly, under the Excise Act, the total collection for the same quarter was Rs 32.48 crore as against Rs 24.67 crore for the corresponding period of 2004-05.