Shandur polo festival starts tomorrow

CHITRAL: The three-day Shandur polo festival will be held on the scheduled date on June 20 (Friday) despite boycott of the event by the Gilgit-Baltistan team. Talking to Dawn, on Wednesday, Chitral deputy commissioner, Aminul Haq, said that the provincial government had decided to hold the event on its scheduled date keeping in view the enthusiasm of the game lovers and arrival of tourists to the venue in large numbers. Mr Haq said that the festival might be a low profile affair this year due to boycott of the Gilgit-Baltistan team, but it would still provide the level of entertainment and joy the people had been waiting for, for so long. Meanwhile, president of district polo association, Shahzada Sikandarul Mulk, dispelled the impression that the absence of GB team would render the event less interesting for the fans. “Eight teams from across the district are participating in the event, which means that the fans will have four thrilling matches to watch and be entertained,” he said. Meanwhile, the tourists have started reaching here to travel onward to the Shandur polo ground to witness the event. The administrations of a number of leading hotels in the city, including PTDC hotel, told Dawn that they almost had all their rooms booked. However, they said a fraction of tourists had cancelled their bookings over the decision of the GB government not to send its team to the event. Meanwhile, the district police claimed to have made foolproof security arrangement to ensure safety of the participants of the event. DPO Ghulam Hussain said under a special security plan, 1,200 personnel had been deployed at the venue and on the roads leading to Shandur. Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2014