SWABI: Traditional Raht Bull Race organised at Naro Kallay of Maneri Bala village here on Saturday attracted people from parts of the province and both the organisers and participants vowed to keep the race alive for the future generation.

In some remote villages, bulls are still being used for drawing water from wells for irrigation. The bull is tied to a traditional system of ropes connecting many small pots going down and drawing water while it makes rounds of the well, and this whole arrangement is called ‘Raht’.

For the Saturday’s race, a special space was created and the bull completing the most rounds in the allotted time was declared as the winner by the judges’ committee.

A farmer from Charsadda whose bull won the race was awarded the winner’s cup amid drum beating and dance by his supporters. The local growers made arrangements for the race and had invited farmers from parts of the province to test their bulls in the contest.

The residents said the price of the bull winning the race increased manifold and the affluent participants showed interest to buy the bull.

“The bull owner feels too much pride and enjoys the victory,” Sirzamin Khan, one of the bull racers, told this scribe.

He said the interested farmers from parts of the province reached Maneri to witness the cultural event, usually held in winter.

Shahzar Khan, who also took part in the contest, said the farmers prepared their bulls for race for almost the whole year.

ARRESTED: Police have arrested the accused in the murder case of one Abdullah of proper Swabi city.

One Masood had filed a report in the local police station on Dec 5 that his father Abdullah was shot dead by unknown accused.

SHO Altaf Khan told this scribe that they conducted an investigation and arrested the accused Ishtiaq Hussain of Shamshah Khel, Swabi city, and recovered a repeater gun from him. He said the accused had confessed to his crime.

Meanwhile, members of a jirga and political leaders postponed a planned protest after assurance by the police that the robbers, who looted the house of Safdar Zeb advocate, general secretary of the district bar association, on Wednesday night, would be arrested till Monday.

The residents of Parmuli, Naranjee, Shewa and Asota had earlier planned to stage a demonstration at Shewa Adda on Friday.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2022