Turban-wearing Sikh woman of Indian origin is new councillor of Canadian city Brampton
Toronto (PTI): Navjit Kaur Brar, an Indo-Canadian healthcare worker, on Monday became the first turban-wearing Sikh woman to be elected as a councillor of Brampton city in Canada.
Brar, a respiratory therapist and mother of three, won the race in Wards 2 and 6 in the recent elections to the Brampton City Council, securing 28.85 per cent of the votes cast.
Jermaine Chambers, a former Conservative MP candidate for Brampton West, who secured 28.85 per cent of the votes cast, was the nearest contender with 22.59 per cent votes. Carmen Wilson was third at 15.41 per cent, the Brampton Guardian reported.
As a part of her campaign, Brar knocked over 40,000 doors and spoke to over 22,500 residents in the last two months.
“I am so proud of @Navjitkaurbrar. She was a selfless and dedicated front-line healthcare worker during the pandemic. She has stepped up for public service and I am confident she will be a phenomenal addition to Brampton City Council,” Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who won a second term in the recent election, tweeted.
Brar, who previously ran as the Ontario NDP candidate in Brampton West, had lost to the current Progressive Conservative MPP Amarjot Sandhu.
Another Sikh candidate, Gurpartap Singh Toor, knocked off his opponent Gurpreet Dhillon in Wards 9 and 10 by a scant 227 votes.
The report said as many as 40 Punjabis were in the fray for Brampton civic elections and only 87,155 of the 354,884 eligible voters turned up to cast ballots an abysmal voter turnout of approximately 24.56 per cent.
The Indo-Canadian community, along with the councillor candidates, had raised concerns over the election date overlapping with Diwali one of the most-awaited festivals celebrated by the large swathe of Indian diaspora in Canada.
“It is very problematic that the elections are taking place on Diwali day, especially the municipal election that has always seen a low voter turnout,” said Gurpratap Singh Toor.
Elections to the municipal government are held every four years on the fourth Monday of October, which was on October 24 this year.
Brar, who has little political experience, said, “I think a lot of people can relate to me. I'm just a respiratory therapist. I've actually worked with a lot of people. I'm a mom of three and a lot of people in Brampton are families.”
Brar focused on three areas - building new infrastructure, reducing crime, and improving road safety. Brar said that she planned to work hard to represent all demographics in her ward.
“I'm excited. I'm so proud of all Bramptonians who have voted, making sure our voices are being heard more than ever before,” she said before the announcement.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
