On Friday, 39 drivers completed the first round of the 17th Cholistan Jeep Rally’s main stock category, covering a distance of 231 kilometres.
The jeep rally began at the Dilwash Stadium early in the morning. Dr. Sohail Cheema, chairman of Tourism Development Corporation Punjab, performed the flag-off ceremony.
Nadir Magsi (Sindh), Zain Mehmood (Bahawalpur), and Asif were placed first, second, and third, respectively, according to unconfirmed findings handed to Dawn by retired bureaucrat Dr Raheel Siddiqui from the desert.
Magsi finished in 1 hour 51 minutes 22 seconds, Zain in 1 hour 51 minutes 22 seconds, and Asif in 1 hour 55 minutes 50 seconds.
On Sunday (tomorrow), the final day of the Cholistan Jeep Rally, the second round will take place. The stock category race will be held today (Saturday). Male and female drivers will compete.
According to reports, previous champion Sahibzada Muhammad Sultan is no longer competing in the jeep rally after his vehicle broke down before the halfway mark on Friday. Sultan was unable to finish his race as a result, and the race was abandoned.
Following the death of a relative, the Patel family of Karachi, which included Tushna Patel, withdrew from the race and returned to Karachi.
Jeham Bux Bamji, the father of Tushna Patel and the father-in-law of former champion Ronnie Patel, died, according to reports. Tushna Patel, last year’s women’s jeep rally champion, and her daughter Dina Patel, as well as her husband Ronnie Patel, flew to Karachi after hearing the news.
Following the withdrawal of the Patels from the race, the women’s category is currently contested by three women drivers: Palvasha Hayat Khan, Zulaikha Niazi, and Jamila Asif.
On Friday, the 17th Cholistan jeep rally festival week included the opening of a food street at Farid Gate in Bahawalpur, a tent-pegging competition, a trade fair jointly organised by the Bahawalpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Islamia University Bahawalpur (IUB), and a motorcycle rally around Dilwash Stadium, as well as sports events near Derawar Fort in Cholistan.
Commissioner retired Capt Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and Deputy Commissioner Irfan Ali Kathiya officially opened the food strip.
For the first time, a tent-pegging competition was staged in conjunction with the demonstration, and it was heavily attended by Sadiq Public School students (SPS). Apart from people arriving from other cities for the jeep rally and the Channan Pir Mela, the food street drew a considerable number of local residents.
The event was attended by 30 bikers, according to reports. The bike rally began at the Abbasi family’s graveyard and ran for 75 kilometres.
Shaukat Parhar, Sabir Shair, and Shafiq Mahar were ranked first, second, and third in the rally, according to the results.