All set for Shandur Polo Festival in Chitral

Local, foreign tourists to participate in three-day event

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Secretary Tourism and Culture, Muhammad Bakhtiar Khan, has said that all the arrangements for the Shandur Polo Festival have been finalized which will start on June 28.

Apart from Pakistan, tourists from all over the world are welcome to participate in this 3-day extravaganza, he added.

He expressed these views while presiding over the review meeting held in the conference room of the Department of Tourism and Culture, Peshawar. The Secretary Tourism said that the top officials of the administration of both the districts of Chitral, including the deputy commissioner of Upper Chitral, are constantly reviewing the highways and security arrangements themselves, while the deputy commissioner of Upper Chitral has also canceled the holidays of the employees at the local level while he is also in constant contact with local people and leaders of Chitral.

He said that immediately after Eidul Azha, various administrative teams of the Department of Tourism and Culture will be dispatched to the venue of Shandur Polo Festival so that preparations at the ground are not only made fool-proof, but also the best arrangements are made. If necessary, additional facilities would also be provided for tourists, he maintained.

Bakhtiar Khan reiterated that Shandur Festival will be held on the dates announced by Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Gandapur.

In the three-day festival, apart from thrilling competitions by polo teams from Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan, artists and singers from these regions will perform in the musical concerts on local tunes, he added.

Similarly he said that like every year, stalls of local cultural handicrafts and products will be displayed in the festival.

The closing ceremony of the festival will be held on June 30 at the Shandur Polo Ground, which will feature paragliding and other thrilling artistic demonstrations besides colorful cultural programs and artist performances.

Meanwhile, Adviser Tourism and Culture Zahid Chanzeb has expressed satisfaction over the ongoing arrangements and preparations in connection with the Shandur Polo Festival, as he is in constant contact with the divisional and district administrations in this regard.

He appreciated the continuous monitoring of highways and security arrangements by the deputy commissioners of both the districts of Chitral in this regard.

He directed the authorities concerned to send teams of senior officers of tourism department to Shandur immediately after Eid and ensure to make all arrangements fool-proof in all respects.

He expressed the confidence that this three-day festival will be made a successful and memorable tourism festival in all respects according to international standards, which will be echoed at the international level for longer, he maintained.