Commonwealth Games: Queen's baton arrives in India

Amritsar, June 25 (ANI): The Queen's Baton Relay for the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG) arrived in India from Pakistan via the Wagah Border on Friday.

The baton entered India at 9.30 a.m.

The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee head, Suresh Kalmadi, received the baton from his Pakistani counterpart, Lt General Syed Arif Hassan.

Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Commonwealth Games Federation chief Michael Fennell, and other sportspersons were present at the event.

On Saturday, the relay will proceed to Jalandhar, Phillaur and then Ludhiana in Punjab. It will again go on public display at Patiala.

On Sunday, the relay will move to Hoshiarpur and Pathankot.

On Monday, it will be handed over to the state and Olympics authorities of Jammu and Kashmir.

The baton will cover most states and union territories, travelling a distance of over 20,000 km, before finally reaching New Delhi on September 30.

The Queen's Baton relay is a torch race symbolising the unity and shared ideals of the Commonwealth of nations. It carries a message from the head of the Commonwealth of Nations, currently Queen Elizabeth II of the UK.

The baton has the ability to capture images and sound as it travels throughout the nations of the Commonwealth. With Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, it can be tracked through exact location. (ANI)