Sports

Sixth desert jeep rally kicks off in Pakistan

by hussain | February 20, 2010 at 11:04 pm

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The sixth desert jeep rally kicked off in Cholistan desert of Pakistan on Sunday morning.
The winner of each of the four categories of the 234-kilometer rally would get Rs200,000 prize while the runner up and third position holders would get Rs150,000 and Rs100,000 each.Cholistan Desert also known locally as Rohi sprawls 30 kilometers from Bahawalpur in Punjab province of Pakistan and covers an area of 16,000 square kilometers. It adjoins the Thar Desert extending over to Sindh and into India.The word Cholistan is derived from the Turkish word Chol, which means desert. Cholistan thus means Land of the Desert. The people of Cholistan lead a semi-nomadic life, moving from one place to another in search of water and fodder for their animals. The dry bed of the Hakra River runs through the area, along which many settlements of the Indus Valley Civilisation have been found.

BAHAWALPUR: The sixth Cholistan desert jeep rally has kicked off here on Sunday morning, Geo news reported.The phases of rally have been divided into four different categories, featuring a total of 88 sports drivers. The rally began as the winner of last year tournament Meer Nadir Magsi drove out his jeep first to mark the opening of the race. Earlier on Friday, the Punjab parliamentary secretary for Tourism and Muslims Students Federation (MSF) president Rana Mohammad Arshad said that a sum of Rs3 million was being spent on holding the sixth Cholistan desert jeep rally from February 21-23.Talking to media persons, he said that a helicopter had also been made available to monitor the jeep rally and to act as a swift transportation facility in any emergency situation during the 3-day event. He said the winner of each category of the 234-km rally would get Rs 200,000 prize while the runner up and third position holders would get Rs 150,000 and Rs 100,000 each.Chief Minister’s Senior Advisor Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa will distribute prizes among the winners at the historical Derawar Fort on Feb 23. He lauded the organizers for holding an event that would not only promote tourism but will also provide recreation to the common folks who are worried due to the menace of terrorism.The total distance of rally track is 234 kilometers while hundreds of spectators have arrived to enjoy the tournament.