‘Rural Olympics’ to begin on February 12

Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh, Feb 5

The three-day ‘rural Olympics’ will kick start at Kila Raipur on February 12. This would be the first time since Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) formed the government that the sports fair is being organised. The official announcement was made by Cabinet Minister Anmol Gagan Maan by releasing the calendar for the fair at her office at Chandigarh on Monday.

ADC (Rural Development) and convener of the event Anmol Singh Dhaliwal represented Ludhiana District Administration at the calendar releasing ceremony.

Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said the sports fair would commence in Kila Raipur on February 12 and the calendar briefing details of the events included had been issued.

According to a calendar issued jointly by the Directorate of Cultural Affairs Archaeology and Archives Museum Punjab and Ludhiana Administration separate matches for men and women would be held in hockey, kabaddi, wrestling, tug-of-war, cycling, long jump and races for differently-abled persons on the three days. Individual performances would also be held intermittently. Various Punjabi folk and sufi singers will perform at the end of each day during the ‘rural Olympics’.

The release of the event calendar by the Cabinet Minister has cleared the air around the uncertainty that had prevailed about the conduct of various events during the last few weeks.

Once known as ‘mini rural Olympics’ across the world, the Kila Raipur Sports Fair was widely known for animal feats and bullock cart races. The fair, started in 1933, was a small unorganised event that was held in Kila Raipur where farmers of the region would get together annually to test their corporal endurance. It was later made famous by sports enthusiasts and promoters under the banner of Grewal Sports Association for almost seven decades. Unfortunately, the event was discontinued due to a number of factors, including the volatile atmosphere during the days of terrorism in the state, factionalism among organisers, political interferences, litigation over ownership of property and Covid-19 pandemic. Presently, the Kila Raipur Sports Society, Patti Suhavia, is the owner of the property.

Though the soul of the fair — bullock cart races and animal games — have not been included in the calendar, residents are happy that Kila Raipur will be abuzz with cheering and music. The government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Maan has invited residents to visit the venue in numbers.

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