Sports Festival At Scenic Kumrat Valley In March: DC Dir Upper

Deputy Commissioner Dir Upper Khalid Iqbal Khattak Friday said that all arrangements have already been made for the smooth conduct of the forthcoming Kumrat Sports Festival in March this year

DIR UPPER, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Feb, 2020 ) : Deputy Commissioner Dir Upper Khalid Iqbal Khattak Friday said that all arrangements have already been made for the smooth conduct of the forthcoming Kumrat Sports Festival in March this year.

Talking to media men during his visit to Dir Upper Sports Complex during the inauguration ceremony of the KP U21 Dir Upper Inter-Tehsil Games, DC Khalid Iqbal Khattak said that like last year, the district administration with the strong support of Tourism Corporation KP is going to hold Kumrat Sports Festival for which all arrangements in this connection have been in final stages.

Accompanied with AAC Dir Upper Ijaz Akhtar, DSO Mukhtar Hussain, DC Dir Upper said that according to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan holding of games at Tehsil level would provide a golden opportunity for the youths who are earlier being neglected and could not have access to these games due to living in far flung areas to come up and explore their hidden talent.

These games will help emerging new talent, he said, adding, Kumrat Festival always attracted both local and foreign tourists and all arrangements in this connection have already been made to ensure all facilities to the tourists.

He said there will be more than a dozen different games in Kumrat Sports Festival including motor racing, snowboarding, horseback riding, showcasing locally made handicrafts, horse and cattle show and other colourful events including football, cricket, volleyball, tug of war, snow volleyball, athletics, kabaddi on snow, ice hockey, skating, local games Sakhay, archery, guli Tanda, installation of local food stalls would also part of the overall festival.

'Sakhay' is a traditional game played with one leg as the other is tied up to the hand.

"The Sakhay is really good to watch as it is a unique sport as other games are common all over Pakistan," DC Upper Dir added. He said, other recreational events for children, a music and stand-up comedy show would also be part of the festival, he added.

He said the previous year the event attracted a decent number of local and foreigner tourists and hoped that this time the festival was expected to attract more people as compared to last year.

He said besides development of tourism, the festival would also promote healthy sports activities and thus, helping youth to exhibit their talents. He said tourist guideline desks had been established on various points to provide guidance to tourists, while the maximum work had been completed on the construction of roads to the valley.

Kumrat is a valley in the Upper Dir District of KP located about 45 minutes away from the town of Thal. It is one of the scenic valleys of KP and a picturesque spot for travelers. Every winters and summer season thousands of tourists from different areas of the country visit to Kumrat valley and enjoy the greenery and cool weather.

Kumrat is covered with green pastures, snow clad mountains, the river Panjkora, foggy mounds and forests are attractions of the region, which serve as habitats for variety of flora and fauna. The Kumrat Valley's unique selling proposition for the last few years are its towering Deodar forest trees located on level ground adjacent the Panjkora River. Although the valley is relatively less green as compared to the Neelam Valley on the whole, the unique storybook ambiance formed by the Deodar forests has continued to attract tourists for several years.