Bashir Hussain Azad
CHITRAL: Chitral Polo Association President Shahzada Sikendarul Mulk has threatened to boycott the Shandur Polo Festival 2024 if the government departments concerned continued delaying tactics in increasing the allowance for the players.
Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, he said the KP Culture and Tourism Authority and the Finance Department were still sitting on files to approve the increase in the allowance of the polo players while the annual event was approaching fast.
He was of the view that with the current allowance of Rs150,000 per player, no polo player could afford going to Shandur this year. He said the players along with their horses had to reach Shandur at least 10 days before the start of the festival to get acclimatized, and stay there for about two weeks during which they have to bear the expenses from their own pockets.
As the players were unable to meet the expenses under the rising inflation, he had taken up the issue with authorities concerned who promised to resolve it on priority. However, an increase in the allowance has not been made so far due to red tape in the KP Culture and Tourism Authority and the Finance Department, he complained.
Shahzada Sikendar demanded that as promised by the authorities and keeping inflation in view the allowance should be increased to at least Rs300,000 per player to enable them to manage their expenses without any hardship.