Jaipur Diary – 3: Reflecting Pink City As It Is

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A fortnightly diary of the Pink City by Jaipurwallah will reflect Jaipur in all its colours and nuances

DRAVYAVATI COULD BECOME THE SABARMATI OF JAIPUR

Dravyavati river (Amani Shah ka Nallah) is the dream project of the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. This is an ambitious as well as a grandiose project－and if completed in time on 15 August, 2018－it could become the Sabarmati river of Jaipur. JDA has given the beautification work of the 47 km long Dravyavati river to ‘Tata Projects’.

The work began on a war footing in April of 2016. The total cost of the project is a whopping Rs. 1470 crores of which Rs. 320 crores have already been spent.

The Tata Projects will develop the STPs (4 of them), lay the stones, construct the walls and sewer lines as well as construct parks (Shiptra Path, Pani Pech, Bambhalia Puliya). Well there is a lot of work left. Hopefully, we will get to see the Sabarmati of Jaipur come August, 2018.

MAHARAJA PADMANABH SINGH OF JAIPUR LEAVES EMPHATIC STAMP AT THE WORLD POLO MATCHES

The 19-year old Maharaja of Jaipur, Padmanabh Singh was the youngest member of the Indian Polo Team that qualified recently for the World Cup Finals scheduled to be held in October in Sydney.

In hard-fought matches, Maharaja Padmanabh scored 5 goals in the 3 matches of FIP World Cup Play Off Zone E in Tehran. He scored 1 goal against Iran and 2 goals each against South Africa and Pakistan. He also scored the victory goal against South Africa. A bad fall from the horse did not disrupt the flow of the game in any manner whatsoever during the India-South Africa match.

Earlier, during the summers, the young Maharaja has been playing in England and the United States. He also participated in the prestigious British Polo Day match at Hanley near London.

The Maharaja spends 3-4 hours daily practicing riding on horses. Sometimes he has ridden 20-25 horses in a day. He is a firm believer of the fact that training makes the difference. He has travelled to various countries like UK, the United States, Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, UAE, Spain, Canada and Thailand for the game of polo which is also his passion. It’s his dream to develop Jaipur as an international polo hub.

He humbly admits that the coaching by Uday Kalan and the facilities provided by the IPA has immensely helped improve his game during the World Cup matches.

Yet another dream of Maharaja Padmanabh is to bring the World Cup to India the way his grandfather Sawai Mansingh II had in 1957.

SONAKSHI VASHISHTHA IS THE SPOKESPERSON OF PRADESH CONGRESS’ ‘VICHAR VIBHAG’

The Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) recently appointed Ms. Sonakshi Vashishtha as the Spokesperson and Media-in-Charge of the Vichar Vibhag. In this context, a letter to this effect was issued by the Chairman, Vichar Vibhag, Professor (Dr.) Naresh Dadhich.

It is to be noted that the Vichar Vibhag is the cell of RPCC comprising of educationists, lawyers, and intelligentsia. It holds seminars and meets on a regular basis to spread the ideology of the Congress party, informs Ms. Vashishtha.

The senior Congress leader, Ms. Girija Vyas is the Chairperson of the Vichar Vibhag of All India Congress Committee.

An event manager of no mean repute, she has been into this field for 11 years. The high points of her event-management career has been to organise the IPL in Jaipur in the beginning years; tie-up with TOI for their events – she organised the first ever marathon in Jaipur for them. Specialising in corporate events, she also manages a gift shop.

Regarding her tryst with Congress, she says she believes in their ideology.

WHEN NARESH CHANDRA WAS NOT REMEMBERED AS THE FORMER CHIEF SECRETARY

The recent passing away of the former Indian Ambassador to the U.S, former Cabinet Secretary and former Rajasthan Chief Secretary, Mr. Naresh Chandra saw a large number of obituaries in national dailies highlighting his achievements as a diplomat and the top boss of the bureaucrats. However, it was surprising that hardly any publication in Rajasthan chose to highlight his achievements as the Chief Secretary of the State. Mr. Chandra belonged to the Rajasthan cadre.