BAHAWALPUR: Mismanagement and inadequate facilities for the drivers marred the 15th Cholistan jeep rally, alleges three of the participants.

The three senior participants who described the shortcomings in the national motor event as a great setback for tourism in Cholistan, blame the Tourism Development Corporation Punjab (TDCP) for failing to prove equal to the task of properly conducting the mega event.

Mahmood Majid Chaudhry who represented a Bahawalpur racing club and Qasim Sadi (Lahore) and Noman Saranjam (Karachi) spoke to Dawn and alleged mismanagement by the main organiser, TDCP. They said the drivers had to face problem right in the beginning on Feb 13 (Thursday) when they waited for quite some time for registration by standing in a long queue along with the newcomers and young motorists.

They were of the view that the registration of senior participants should be granted at the time of submission of their documents.

They claimed that the attendance in the drivers’ conference organised by the TDCP was thin. The organisers, they said, began the qualifying round behind the schedule as a result of which many participants could not compete due to dusk. They were given the turn next morning and that, they said, made things difficult for them.

This also caused delay in the main flag-off ceremony on Friday morning (Feb14) of the first round of the prepaid category. It was quite risky, they said, that the rally track was encroached upon by spectators and stray animals at many points. This affected the performance of the participants, they said.

Another shortcoming they pointed out was a lack of security for the rally route. They regretted that the beautiful but crumbling building of the historic Jamgarh Fort was defaced by the TDCP’s multi-coloured posters and panaflexes and demanded that the archaeology department should take action against those responsible for defacing the monument.

They said the prize money for the winners should be enhanced and the TDCP should avoid unnecessary expenditure and instead drivers should be provided maximum facilities at the venue.

Mr Mahmood Majid Chaudhry regretted that the TDCP should not have held the jeep rally’s trophy unveiling ceremony in Lahore where, according to him, millions of rupees had been spent.

The participants demanded that Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and his adviser on tourism should take notice and ensure an inquiry into mismanagement on such a scale.

FAKE PIR: The Khairpur Tamewali police claim to have arrested a fake spiritual healer for allegedly causing serious burns and knife cuts to a woman at Khanan Arain village.

According to an FIR No 83/20, Ruqaya Bibi was taken for treatment to Pir Mehboob Alam who allegedly used hot knife and ended up injuring her. Later, the woman was hospitalised.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2020