Zubair Qureshi
The three-day tent pegging championship organized (June 7-9, 2024) in Islamabad’s premiere public recreation facility, Fatima Jinnah or F-9 Park, has received strong disapproval from the visitors, park workers and general public as the post-championship picture of the park is that of utter chaos and mess beyond imagination.
Their plea is that a public park is not meant for horse racing or tent-pegging, let alone a venue for the stay of the horses, their masters and caretakers. The park has lost its scenic beauty and elegance.
After the conclusion of the championship and prize-winning on the third and the final day (Sunday) of the championship, a visit to the park on Monday showed the level of damage the three-day event had caused to the park, its flowery beds, walking tracks, neat and clean meadows and paths.
The entire park was stinking with a foul smell, obviously of horse shit as the park housed dozens of horses on its lush green grounds. Nearby, the caretakers also stayed in tents and used the nooks and corners of the park as toilets.
Besides, the vehicles which were used for bringing and carrying the horses in and out of the park were driven on the jogging tracks and turned the erstwhile neat and left on the clean tracks filth dirt and dust.
The smell is so overwhelming that I cannot walk on the trails. Even by Monday morning, horses were tied along these trails, said QayyumBurki, who is a regular visitor to the park. “I cannot breathe in the park, a place where people come for deep breathing,” he said.
Sheikh Aftab, a lawyer by profession also criticized the park administration for allowing the organizers of the tent-pegging show to bring their horses and the entire paraphernalia inside the park. They could be asked to hold the show in the Parade Ground or Sector I-10 or I-11 where plenty of land is lying vacant. “Look around and you will be surprised there is not a single trace left that could have a resemblance with the F-9 Park that it once was before the championship.
The regular visitors of the park will take a break for a few days till the mess is cleared and the foul smell is over. The fact that children after the summer vacation come to the park along with their families has further augmented their panic as there is nothing that could be associated with a park.
Now the poor park workers will have to start fresh, remove the garbage, tend the flowers and trim the grass and clean the tracks. Meanwhile, the CDA is happy to mint money.
An official of the CDA while admitting a park is not meant to be used as a venue for sporting activity, said since the championship is an annual event we were under obligation to give permission. Besides, it is a good opportunity for the public to come and enjoy the centuries-old sport in the park, he said.
About the visitors and the public who have registered strong protest, he said everyone has his own point of view, let’s not bother about that.
“The tent pegging championship takes place in the F-9 Park every year and each time the three-day event leaves behind the work it would take the poor ground staff days and weeks to complete.
