Water sports gala at Khanpur lake from tomorrow

HARIPUR, April 13: The annual three-day Khanpur water sports gala will begin at Khanpur lake from Friday, organisers of the event told this correspondent here on Wednesday. The Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had introduced this festival in 2009 at Khanpur lake on experimental basis and following encouraging response from the visitors, the department has formally declared it an official event like Shandur Mela. As witnessed in the past, picnickers from different cities, including Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Taxila, Wah Cantonment and nearby cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are likely to throng the festival and enjoy different water sports. The organisers said that during the three-day gala sportsmen from different departments and cities would exhibit their skills in motor boating, scooter boating, fishing contests, paragliding, hang-gliding, hot air ballooning, motor gliding, power gliding, air safari, etc. The festival als o offers cultural events such as Hazara dance, Chitrali dance, and Khattak dance and songs in local languages like Pashto, Hindko and Punjabi for the entertainment of picnickers. TWO INJURED: Two people received bullet injuries during a celebratory firing in a wedding party in the jurisdiction of Kotnajibullah police station on Tuesday night. According to police, some youngsters were indulging in rapid celebratory firing during a wedding ceremony in village Bhera when a few shots hit Tanveer and Salim of the same village. The injured were taken to district headquarters hospital, Haripur, from where they were referred to Ayub Medical Complex, Abbottabad, in critical condition. EDUCATIONIST DIES: Renowned educationist and member of provincial Public Safety and Police Complaint Commission, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Prof Taj Kareem passed away here on Wednesday. He was 62. According to family sources, Mr Kareem was a hear t patient and was in his office in Sir Syed Model School and College when he suffered cardiac arrest. He was taken to Yahya Medical Complex where the doctors pronounced him dead. Mr Kareem was president of Private Educational Institutions Management Association (PEIMA) and member Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Abbottabad. His funeral will be held at village Kalas at 10am on Thursday (today).