Karachi Press Club's Summer Sports Festival set to kickoff

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

All is set for the KPC Summer Sports Festival 2010 to kickoff at the Karachi Press Club on June 30 with Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary Sports & Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, to inaugurate it in a colorful ceremony.

The festival is being organized by the Sports Committee, with the collaboration of the Indoor Games Committee, at the Karachi Press Club from June 30 to July 24.

As many as five games, snooker, chess, scrabble, badminton and table tennis, will be contested during the festival being supported by the sports department of the Government of Sindh.

The festival, offering cash awards to top performers, will commence with the snooker tournament from June 30 to July 3 to be followed by chess and scrabble (July 5 to 10), badminton (July 12 to 17) and table tennis (July 19 to 24). It will be open to the members of the KPC only and the entries will be closing two days before the start of every tournament.

The Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP) has volunteered to offer technical assistance for the chess and scrabble tournaments while the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) and the Karachi Table Tennis Association (KTTA) will be providing technical support to the competitions of snooker and table tennis respectively.

The involvement of the respective professional bodies in conducting the various events will add value to the festival besides allowing the Sports Committee to concentrate on administrative matters.

The Karachi Press Club has actually revived the tradition of holding sports tournaments for its members. The senior members of the club like S M Fazal and A Majid Khan have often been heard recalling those sports events of the yesteryears in which the members of the club used to participate very enthusiastically.

Talking about enthusiasm there is greater response already than was being anticipated from the members and the number of entries in the snooker tournament went into double digits within an hour of the announcement appearing on the club’s notice board.

The KPC President, Imtiaz Khan Faran, is thrilled by the response and the build-up for the upcoming event and he didn’t mince words in stating that the club is actually meant for such activities that could provide recreation to the members and their families.

“Yes the club should be a place where the members and their families could come over for spending time nicely. We have been trying to develop more facilities in order to serve the purpose,” he added.

Imtiaz Faran feels that the club should be having a swimming pool besides facilities for other indoor games.

The KPC Secretary, A H Khanzada, is also ecstatic with the buzz around the club created by the sports festival.

“We have provided an opportunity to our members to demonstrate their sporting prowess. By the look of things the word has already spread and there is a talk about it among the members that’s very heartening indeed,” he observed.

REVENUE DEPARTMENT GETS DIRECTIVE FOR ACTION AGAINST LAND GRABBERS

Administrator Karachi Fazlur Rehman has directed Revenue Department to take immediate action for implementation of recently promulgated Pubic Property (Removal of Encroachments) Ordinance 2010. He has instructed EDO Revenue to prepare all required infrastructure including establishment of offices and coordination among concerned departments so that effective action could be taken against the land grabbers.

City District Government Karachi has finalized all initial work to initiate action under the Public Property Ordinance 2010. The Revenue Department was also establishing a police station and anti encroachments force to arrest and lodge the FIR against the land grabbers. Under the ordinance any person found responsible of occupying government land would have to face 10 year imprisonment with fine equal to the value of occupied land while the government official helping the encroacher would have to face 5 year imprisonment.

Meanwhile Administrator Karachi Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday imposed immediate ban on the sale and use of over ripen, rotten fruits, sugar cane juice, all kinds of gola dundas, ice lollys and other syrups on the roads and footpaths within the jurisdiction of City District Government Karachi. The action has been taken to save the health and lives of citizens.

Sindh Govt launches Taxation Training Programme for yougsters

Sindh Youth Minister, Syed Faisal Ali Sabzwari, inaugurated Taxation Training Programme being held as part of the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Programme (BBSYDP), here at the ICAP the other day.

The five-month Taxation Training Programme is being organized by the Sports & Youth Affairs department of the Government of Sindh with the collaboration of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP).

It’s the second programme in a series of three designed and developed by the department. Earlier they had launched the Insurance Training Programme last month while the third and final related to the field of banking will be getting underway in near future.

“Our department has arranged three programmes under the BBSYDP for the career development of the youngsters of the province. Two of them have already been inaugurated and the third one will be starting soon,” the Sindh Youth Minister remarked.

“The kind of taxation training you will be provided at this institution (ICAP) will help you in improving your skills greatly and you will be able to get a head start to the profession,” Faisal Sabzwari observed while addressing the participants.

“You are really fortunate to be able to receive training at such reputed institutions. In our time there was no such facility provided by the government to train us. Therefore you should avail this opportunity and make the most of it by taking your lessons seriously which will open a lot of career opportunities for you,” he added.

“Everyone talks of the youth being an asset. Our department takes the responsibility of grooming the youngsters and safeguarding their future. Not all the talented youngsters could move to Canada for greener pasture. We have to invest on our youth and provide them the desired infrastructure here to let them polish their skills and contribute to the betterment of the society,” the Minister said.

Faisal Sabzwari, himself an Alumni of ICAP, spoke highly of his Alma Mater and did not mince words in stating that the education and training he received at the institution went a long way in boosting his career.

Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary Sports & Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, informed the 20 participants, selected from all over the province, that the certificate they would be receiving upon the completion of the course will help them immensely in their career in the taxation industry.

“Under the able guidance of Youth Minister, our department has taken the initiative of joining hands with the leading institutions and organizations like the ICAP, the Institute of Bankers of Pakistan (IBP) and the Pakistan Insurance Institute (PII) to provide training to the youngsters in the field of insurance, taxation and banking as part of the BBSYDP,” he added.

Shoaib Siddiqui urged the youngsters to work hard and avail the opportunity of getting training at the reputed and renowned institutions like the ICAP.

The Sports & Youth Affairs department of the Government of Sindh will be providing stipend to all the participants with the outstation trainees to get additional allowance for their boarding and lodging during the five-month period.

Mr Abdul Rahim Suriya, President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan and Mr Pervez Muslim also spoke to the participants. Deputy Project Director BBSYDP Mr Saleem Ahmed Siddiqui and council members of ICAP were also present on the occasion.