Game to play a polo match on the Kargil battlefield?

Drass (Kashmir), Jul 12: As proud Indians, the town of Drass assumes much significance as the country hoisted the tricolour after battling Pakistani forces, who in an attempt to test India's power infiltrated through the mountainous terrain intending to cut off the Ladakh region in 1999. Drass is no more remnant of the bloody war that played on its soil, but is a picturesque landscape of peace and serenity.

When the country celebrated the 12th anniversary of the landmark victory in the Kargil war on Jul 26, the battlefield of Kargil has now been converted to a polo ground. The town which is a good seven-hour-journey from Srinagar was engaged in a tug of war of control with our not-so-friendly neighbour Pakistan trying to exercise control over the Tiger Hill and the Tololing Hill. The numbing sound of shells being fired in the NH-1D have all faded to the sounds of cheering crowd enjoying a polo match.

Drass is back to its peaceful mode with the area being a hotspot for many Bollywood directors to film their movies. No infiltration attempts or attack have been reported in the town since then.

The area has been hosting the Lalit Suri Polo 2011 tournament with the state government hoping to cash in on the importance of the location and making it a tourist spot. The CM of Jammu and Kashmir has been quoted as saying, “Drass is famous for two things - the Kargil war, and before was known as the world's second coldest place. But other than that people did not know much (about) Drass."

OneIndia News