Bengal Warriors lift maiden PKL title
Ahmedabad, Oct 19: A clinical Bengal Warriors on Saturday clinched their maiden Pro Kabaddi League title by defeating Dabang Delhi 39-34 in a pulsating summit clash here.
Naveen Kumar was brilliant once again with 18 raid points for Delhi but uncharacteristic errors cost their title hopes in front of a packed audience, including Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, at the EKA Arena by TransStadia.
The Warriors did not have the services of star raider and captain Maninder Singh but got support with his presence as assistant coach of the team in the final match of Season Seven.
The pressure of the final got to the Warriors in the early minutes as Delhi stormed to a 6-0 lead. Naveen Kumar certainly looked charged up for the event while Delhi's cover combination of Anil Kumar and Vishal Mane also seemed keen to stop any raider coming their way.
The Delhi side clinched their All-Out in the 8th minute to open a four-point lead but the Warriors were a different side after the restart. Stand-in captain Mohammad Nabibakhsh picked up his game, clinching valuable raid points, as the Warriors quickly reduced Delhi's lead.
Delhi's Iranian player Meraj Sheykh impressed as a substitute, picking up two raid points in pressure situations, but the Warriors secured their first All-Out with under four minutes remaining for the break.
The closely-contested first-half ended with the scores levelled at 17-17.
The Warriors maintained that momentum in the second half as they quickly got into the lead. Sukesh Hegde once again sizzled for the Warriors with some mature raiding, often getting the better of Ravinder Pahal in Delhi's left corner.
Perhaps the smartest move from the Warriors' camp was to deploy the experienced Jeeva Kumar in a shifting cover role, depending on the raider's strong foot.
The decision helped as the Warriors clinched another All-Out in the 8th minute of the half to open-up a 4-point lead.
Delhi's Naveen Kumar clinched his Super 10 in the 10th minute (21st consecutive) but his side struggled to get a stranglehold of the match as Warriors corner combination of Rinku Narwal and Baldev Singh also got into the game.
The Warriors inflicted another All-Out with six minutes remaining to open-up a 10-point lead.
Naveen Kumar kept trying to script a comeback for the Delhi side, hitting the 300-point milestone in the process, but his work continuously got undone by uncharacteristic errors in the defence with the likes of Joginder Narwal and Ravinder Pahal struggling.
The Warriors' defence held tight in the final minutes to secure their maiden Pro Kabaddi League title.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
