12 years after its inception, polo club lies in ruins

Manish Sirhindi

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Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 23

Twelve years after its inception, the Patiala Polo and Riding Club (PPRC), formed with the objective of reviving and promoting polo and other equestrian sports in Punjab, has become nobody’s baby.

The grounds and the incomplete club building now stand abandoned. 

While the Sports Department has no clue if the new polo ground falls under its purview, the district administration also expressed ignorance in this context.

The PPRC was developed on a huge chunk of land adjacent to the Patiala aviation club during the rule of former CM Amarinder Singh. 

The club was even affiliated to the Indian Polo Association (IPA) in 2004. 

It hosted the Army Polo Championship, Patiala Cup and Punjab Cup 2004 and the prestigious FIP Ambassadors Cup in 2006. 

However, since then the new polo ground has been lying in utter neglect. The construction of the clubhouse was never completed and there stands a structure of pillars and a roof. 

It was only recently that the wild growth on the grounds was cleared for the state government’s ‘Sadhbhawana Rally’.

District Sports Officer Jasvirpal Kaur said that she had no idea if the club fell under the Sports Department. ADC Mohinderpal said that during his tenure in Patiala no note related to the PPRC had been put up before him.

Meanwhile, the first secretary of the club, the then ADC Patiala Shivdular Singh Dhillion, said that he was not aware of the present status of the club.