Queen’s Baton lost and found


FROM TIMES OF INDIA

GANGTOK: The Queen’s Baton 2010 Delhi for the Commonwealth Games went missing for nearly two hours at Kupup in Sikkim, near the India-China border, on Saturday afternoon, leaving senior officials red-faced.

It later came to light that the Queen’s Baton Relay team from Delhi had violated security protocol, taking the baton along for lunch at the local Army camp. The baton was finally recovered by the Sikkim Police.

The baton arrived here on Friday. On Saturday, it was carried to Nathu La by 17 Mountain Division personnel. At Nathu La — at 14,400 feet on the India-China border — soldiers and locals flocked to catch a glimpse of the baton, which is on a 100-day India tour.

There was great pomp and show all along the route up to Nathu La. Near the Changu Lake, the baton even took a yak ride. It was received at Nathu La by the local brigade commander as an Army band played in the background. Chinese soldiers, on the other side of the fence, watched with interest. But Army officials said the reaction from the Chinese side was rather muted. Unlike on other occasions, the Chinese soldiers refrained from waving back at Indians who had gathered at the border outpost.

The confusion — and anxious moments — came while the baton was being carried back to Gangtok. Its first stop was at Kupup, nearly 5 km downhill from Nathu La. It was afternoon when the QBR team reached this small town, located 13,054 feet above sea level. Incidentally, this is the site of the world’s highest golf course.