Queen’s Baton to arrive at Tawang Jul 22

ITANAGAR, Feb 6: The Queen’s Baton 2010, Delhi will arrive at Tawang on July 22. Commonwealth Games 2010 Organizing Committee has agreed to the request of Arunachal Pradesh Govt. to hold Queen’s Baton Relay at Tawang keeping in view the cultural, religious and historical importance of the place, said sports and youth affairs department, in a release.

The Baton would arrive in Tawang in an Army Chopper from Shillong on July 22 and, thereafter, a short relay of about two hour would be organized. Later, it would be flown to the state capital.

Meanwhile, a sub- committee has been constituted by the state Govt. under Capital Complex deputy commissioner to make an arrangement for the relay as well as evening cultural programme likely to be held at Banquet Hall. The Baton would be kept in Raj Bhawan for the night before it travels to Dimapur next day.

The Queen’s Baton Relay, similar to the Olympic Torch Relay, is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The Baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The Relay traditionally begins at Buckingham Palace in London as a part of the city’s Commonwealth Day festivities.

The Delhi 2010 Baton Relay was launched on October 29 last year at Buckingham Palace, with the Queen handing the Baton to President Pratibha Patil, who in turn passed it to Dr. M S Gill and Suresh Kalmadi. Kalmadi then had the honour of passing the Baton to the first Baton bearer, Abhinav Bindra, the Olympic air rifle champion who began the Baton’s journey with a relay around the Queen Victoria Monument. Since then, the Baton has travelled thousands of miles and currently it is in Africa.

The Queen’s Baton will travel through all the Commonwealth countries until it lands in India on June 25 where it will spend 100 days touring the 28 states. It will then be taken to its final destination, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi for the opening ceremony of the Delhi Games on Oct. 3 .

Source: The Arunachal Times