The Queen's Baton Relay for the XIX Commonwealth Games was flagged off by the West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan in presence of Sourav Ganguly, Bhaichung Bhutia and a host of eminent sports personalities in Kolkata on Sunday.
After winding through Lover's Lane, Red Road, Strand Road, Police Training School in a 8-km route that took about one-hour and 30 minutes, the Baton was brought to Bodyguard Lines in Alipore where it was welcomed with cultural programmes.
The flag-off for the 8-km Queen's Baton Relay in Kolkata near the North Gate of Victoria Memorial got off to rousing start with a lively, reverberating performance by 'Taal Tantra' band that enthralled the small crowd with a one-hour show.
There was also a performance by Kendriya Vidyalaya students, portraying India's freedom struggle as the Baton arrived at the venue at 3.20pm.
The National anthem was played after the arrival of the Governor who flagged off the Baton at 4.15pm, handing it over to the motley of Bengal's renowned sportpersons and Tollywood artists.
With Ganguly and Bhutia stealing the show, there was also participation from prominent Bengal sportspersons including Tulsidas Balaram, P K Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, Samar Badru Banerjee, Syed Nayeemuddin, Subrata Bhattacharya, Prasun Banerjee, Akhtar Ali, Bula Chowdhury, Bir Bahadur Chhetri, Masudur Rahman Baidya among others.
{{/usCountry}}With Ganguly and Bhutia stealing the show, there was also participation from prominent Bengal sportspersons including Tulsidas Balaram, P K Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, Samar Badru Banerjee, Syed Nayeemuddin, Subrata Bhattacharya, Prasun Banerjee, Akhtar Ali, Bula Chowdhury, Bir Bahadur Chhetri, Masudur Rahman Baidya among others.
{{/usCountry}}Led by India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia, a host of sportspersons including Olympian Soma Biswas, Asian Games double gold medallist Jyotirmoyee Sikdar and yesteryear's football star Tulsidas Balaram welcomed the Baton when it arrived at the NSC Bose International Airport at 12.30 pm.