Shandur festival may lose past glory
PESHAWAR:
The Shandur Polo Festival, said to be the biggest event of freestyle polo in the world, may not be able to achieve its past success if bridges in Chitral district are not reconstructed soon.
The festival to be held from July 7-9 in Mastuj tehsil, is one of the major sporting events in the country. At the festival, teams from Gilgit and Chitral compete at the world’s highest polo ground. A large number of domestic and foreign tourists come to see the festival every year.
Officials told The Express Tribune that in August last year, locals protested over two jeep accidents on the Mastuj Bridge. The accidents had left two people missing after their vehicles fell into a river. In retaliation, residents had torched the bridge, which has not been constructed as yet.
The construction work will take at least three to four months to complete, an official said on condition of anonymity.
He added that two small temporary bridges had been made over River Yarkhun and River Laspur for maintaining communication links. The bridge over River Yarkhun was washed away after glaciers started melting at an increasing rate, the official added. The situation of the bridge over Laspur also seems dangerous and the bridge may not be able to last more than 10 days, he added. If this bridge is washed away, the only link left with the rest of the district is a hanging bridge near Sarghuz, which is only meant for pedestrians, the official said.
A resident, on condition of anonymity, said if the bridges collapse around 50,000 people will be disconnected from the rest of the province. But authorities are not taking the issue seriously, he complained.
The official said besides the Mastuj bridge, there is another bridge under construction for the past two years, adding that both bridges cannot be completed in such a short time.
This, in turn, is threatening the holding of the festival, which is just three weeks away, he added. In the present conditions it is not clear how authorities will manage to hold the event, as everything has to be transported to Shandur from Chitral, he said.
District Coordination Officer (DCO) Chitral Rehmatullah Wazir told The Express Tribune that holding the festival will not be a problem because authorities are working on another bridge in the area. He added that it will be opened before temporary bridges are washed away.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 16th, 2010.
The Shandur Polo Festival, said to be the biggest event of freestyle polo in the world, may not be able to achieve its past success if bridges in Chitral district are not reconstructed soon.
The festival to be held from July 7-9 in Mastuj tehsil, is one of the major sporting events in the country. At the festival, teams from Gilgit and Chitral compete at the world’s highest polo ground. A large number of domestic and foreign tourists come to see the festival every year.
Officials told The Express Tribune that in August last year, locals protested over two jeep accidents on the Mastuj Bridge. The accidents had left two people missing after their vehicles fell into a river. In retaliation, residents had torched the bridge, which has not been constructed as yet.
The construction work will take at least three to four months to complete, an official said on condition of anonymity.
He added that two small temporary bridges had been made over River Yarkhun and River Laspur for maintaining communication links. The bridge over River Yarkhun was washed away after glaciers started melting at an increasing rate, the official added. The situation of the bridge over Laspur also seems dangerous and the bridge may not be able to last more than 10 days, he added. If this bridge is washed away, the only link left with the rest of the district is a hanging bridge near Sarghuz, which is only meant for pedestrians, the official said.
A resident, on condition of anonymity, said if the bridges collapse around 50,000 people will be disconnected from the rest of the province. But authorities are not taking the issue seriously, he complained.
The official said besides the Mastuj bridge, there is another bridge under construction for the past two years, adding that both bridges cannot be completed in such a short time.
This, in turn, is threatening the holding of the festival, which is just three weeks away, he added. In the present conditions it is not clear how authorities will manage to hold the event, as everything has to be transported to Shandur from Chitral, he said.
District Coordination Officer (DCO) Chitral Rehmatullah Wazir told The Express Tribune that holding the festival will not be a problem because authorities are working on another bridge in the area. He added that it will be opened before temporary bridges are washed away.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 16th, 2010.