A teen contest to spread AIDS awareness
Tribune news Service

New Delhi, August 1
Alee Club, a social voluntary society, is going to present its annual contest, ‘Miss and Mr Teen India - 2002 An IQ and Personality Contest in the awareness of HIV/AIDS’, on August 14 here. The advisory panel of this event consists of cine star Sushma Seth, former Femina Miss India Universe Gul Panag, Femina Miss India World - 1998 Annie Thomas, famous media personality Pallab Bose, former Femina Miss Talented Jai Shree Tahilani and famous model and physical fitness instructor Lada.

According to the organisers, the contest is designed with a view to spreading awareness on HIV/AIDS among teenagers, as this is the only age group, which can be directly affected by this incurable disease.

The preliminary round of the contest was held at Hotel Ashok on July 28. It was inaugurated by Femina Miss India World - 1998 Annie Thomas, choreographer Sambita Bose, Pallab Bose, Mrs Ratana Sethi and Sanjeev Dutta. In this preliminary round, students between 13 to 19 years of age from different schools, colleges and institutes took part. The short-listed participants were put to a written test of 20 minutes, in which they had to answer 16 questions based on general and HIV/AIDS awareness. They also appeared for a personal interview, which was judged by the panel of judges consisting of Annie Thomas, Sambita and Pallab Bose.

According to the organisers, the short-listed participants after the interviews would undergo seven days’ training conducted by noted choreographer Sambita. Beneficial tips would be given by Annie Thomas, Pallab Bose, Jai Shree Tahilani and Lada too. Many more personalities who have made their mark in their respective fields would also help the participants hone their skills.

During the training, the participants will learn overall stage performance, which includes aspects like group dance, rhythm walk, expression, behaviour and overall personality development.

According to Sambita, this is a remarkable platform where these teenagers will really be able to give a new shape to their ideas with confidence and determination. This is a unique contest that really improves their overall personality to face the tough competition of this world, she says. She is sure that it would definitely boost the confidence of the teenagers and would certainly help them to choose their career.

Not only the applicants, but their parents were also very excited about the preliminary round. Mrs Renuka Bajaj, mother of a participant, Neha Bajaj, a DPS product, said she had heard a lot and was impressed about the club and the contest. Mrs Soni, mother of Priyanka Soni, remarked that the contest was not only going to expose her daughter to modelling but also provide a meaningful awareness about AIDS. Another parent, Mrs Naseem Ishagne, working as Deputy General Manager in Pragati Maidan, appreciated the efforts of Alee Club.

SPORTS

DDCA News Letter gives wealth of facts
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, August 1
The July issue of the DDCA News Letter gives a comprehensive coverage of the cricket activity in the Capital during the second quarter of the year 2002.

It’s indeed a heartening news that many honourable members of the DDCA have been entrusted with responsible positions in politics, administration and police.

Former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, a member of the DDCA, has been given a Cabinet berth in the Union Council of Ministers while Mr Ram Babu Sharma has been elected chairman of the all-powerful Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

The new Police Commissioner of Delhi, R. S. Gupta, is an important member of DDCA while Ashok Jain has been elected deputy chairman of the Standing Committee of the MCD. M. A. Pathan, a member of the DDCA Executive Committee, has taken over as Chairman, Petroleum Federation of India. Another member, Dinesh Mathur, has been elected president of the High Court Bar Association. Ashok Arora has been elected secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

DDCA senior vice-president C. K. Khanna, who is also a vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has been appointed a member of the Headquarters Committee of the BCCI. The News Letter also gives a lot of other interesting information which would be of immense use to followers of the game in the Capital. Surprisingly, the names of the newly-elected sports committee members do not find a place in an otherwise “newsy” News Letter. This year, Youngsters Club had emerged the Super A DDCA League champions in Group I with Malviya Club taking the second position. Rohtak Road Gymkhana emerged champions in the Super A Group II league with Sonnet finishing as runners-up. In the A-I Division, Chand Khanna pipped Mohans Meakins to the title. In Group II of the same division, Delhi Police emerged champions with Pusa Youngsters taking the second place. In Group III of the same division, Golden Hawks won the title and S B Youth took the second position.

In the A-II division, Delhi Club emerged winners and Daryaganj Gymkhana finished second. In Group II of the same division, T N Colts won the title and Ajmal Khan Club annexed the second position.

Rahul, Ramit star for National Stadium
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, August 1
Rahul Yadav smashed a blistering 94 runs and Ramit Gill played an all-round game (50 and 2 for 26) as National Stadium Coaching Centre defeated St Giri Public School by 83 runs to enter the quarter-final of the first Prabhu Dayal Memorial Cricket Tournament at the Bharat Nagar ground.

Rahul Yadav was declared the Man of the Match while Ramit Gill got the best batsman award. Rohit Nagpal was adjudged the Best Bowler for his fantastic spell of 5 for 15. His fiery bowling stunned the crowd there.

National Stadium, opting to bat first, relied on Rahul Yadav’s batting pyrotechniques to race to 200 for 7 in 35 overs. And then dimissed St. Giri School for a paltry 113, thanks to the devastitating bowling performance by Jaideep Singh Man, who steers National Stadium to victory.

Scores: National Stadium Coaching Centre: 200 for 7 in 35 overs (Rahul Yadav 94, Ramit Gill 50, Rohit Nagpal 4 for 20).

St. Giri Public School: 113 all out in 29.5 overs (Rohit Nagpal 23, Nishant Kumar 19, Jaideep Singh Man 5 for 15, Ramit Gill 2 for 26).

Khalsa Club record facile victory
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, August 1
Khalsa Cricket Club trounced Delhi University Coaching Centre by 44 runs in a league match of the first Hari Nagar Sports Complex Cricket Tournament. The victory fetched four points for Khalsa Cricket Club.

Khalsa Club, batting first, amassed 278 in the allotted 40 overs with Lucky smashing a strokeful 56, which included seven searing fours. Though Ujwal Nanda produced a stunning 5 for 54 spell for Delhi University Coaching Centre, Khalsa

Club managed to hoist a big total.

In reply, Delhi University Coaching Centre folded up for 234 in 36.4 overs, despite tenacious knocks by Lokesh (54), Varun Dev (35), and Varum Sood (35).

Scores: Khalsa Club: 278 all out in 40 overs (Lucky 56, 7x4; Baljeet Singh 34, Kamal 28, Ujwal Nanda 5 for 54).

Delhi University Coaching Centre: 234 all out in 36.4 overs (Lokesh 54, Varun Dev 35, Varun Sood 35, Happy Singh 2 for 32, Micky 2 for 39).

11 teams for N Rly soccer
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, August 1
Eleven divisional football teams will take part in the Northern Railway Football Tournament starting at the Ambedkar Stadium in the Capital on Friday.

The tournament will be organised by the Northern Railway Headquarters Sports Association.

Prominent teams like holders Delhi Division, runners-up Headquarters (Lucknow), Moradabad, Allahabad, Jagadhari Workshop, Bikaner, Firozepur, Ambala, Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Jodhpur Division will take part in the tournament.

The tournament will be held on a knock-out basis. The preliminary round matches will be of 75 minutes’ duration while the semi-finals and final will be of 90 minutes’ duration.

Lucknow Division will take on Moradabad Division in the opening match on Friday at 7 am. Allahabad Division will clash against Jagadhari Workshop in the second match at 9 am.

In the other matches, Bikaner Division will clash against Firozepur Division at 11 am while Ambala Division will play against Railway Protection Force at 4 pm.

The matches of the losing semi-finalists and the final will be played on August 5.

A day after the conclusion of the Railway Tournament, the Delhi Soccer Association Institutional League will begin at the Ambedkar Stadium from August 6.

Admn finally flexes its muscles, evicts illegal occupants
Jatinder Sharma

Rohtak, August 1
The Community Centre at Meham, which had been illegally occupied by some musclemen for the past two years, was cleared of the menace by the district administration in a sudden action on Wednesday. The Community Centre, constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 8 lakh under the decentralised plan by the district administration in 1998, was forcibly occupied by musclemen (pehlwan) immediately after its completion. The centre, located near the new bus stand, has a library hall and a common hall but the musclemen did not allow anyone to use them.

A large number of residents of the area lodged a complaint with Deputy Commissioner Ashok Yadav at his open darbar on Wednesday, contending that the musclemen were a nuisance in the locality and often passed lewd remarks against women. Most of the time during the day they were seen loitering around half-naked, they complained. Mr Yadav immediately asked the police to throw the musclemen out of the Community Centre. Accompanied by district police chief Alok Rai, the Deputy Commissioner personally visited the Community Centre to ensure implementation of his orders and raise the confidence level of the citizens. No arrest, however, has been made. However, residents of the new bus stand area have heaved a sigh of relief after the police action. They hoped that the sub-divisional authorities would be vigilant in the future and would not allow illegal occupation of the Community Centre. Mr Yadav told ‘NCR Tribune’ that he had received nearly 58 complaints on Wednesday about encroachment on either the municipal land in Meham town or on panchayat land in the adjoining villages. He assured the complainants that necessary steps would be initiated to get encroachments vacated without much delay.

Later, in the evening, the Deputy Commissioner visited the tail-end of Kalanaur minor distributary, which caters to the drinking water needs of Kalanaur town. He was told that because of technical faults in the alignment of the distributary, the town was facing shortage of water. He has ordered remodelling of the distributary, so as to provide sufficient water to the residents of Kalanaur.