Our Correspondent
Imphal, August 8 (EMN): The government’s decision to impose 12 percent tax on live horses-the only animal to be taxed under the Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime is expected to give an impact in the ongoing conservation process of Manipuri ponies and also the game of polo at its birth place- Manipur.
However it can be spelled out on what aspect it may affect the tradition of horse riding and game of polo in Manipur, according to Ningthoukhongjam Bedajit Singh, Chairman of the technical committee of the Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association (MHRPA).
“Yes there will be some kind of impact on the pony conservation and other polo game activities if the GST is imposed,” says Bedajit who is the member of Manipur pony society. “The concerned authority also needs to take up certain applications before introducing the GST (while selling and buying of horse) in the state.”
First of all, registration of the ponies across the state is need of the hour and it needs special attention as presently no pony has been registered as per my knowledge goes, the key man behind hosting many International polo events in Imphal said.
Sharing a similar sentiment, popular polo player S Bimol of Manipur Police Sports Club however admitted that he cannot say anything at the moment as the there was no development in the ground. According to Bedajit who is also chairman of the coordinating committees of the premier polo clubs in Manipur, ponies here are used only for polo games unlike other places in the country where people utilised them as a public career service and other joyride activities. There are around 20 polo clubs in Manipur.
Interestingly the polo is being played by both the rich and poor polo players in Manipur unlike other parts of the country. At the same time, majority of the owners are from poor financial background. “We use to watch Sagol Lamjel (horse race) every weekend at the Hafta Kangjeibung at Palace gate apart from polo till the late eighties.
Despite state authority’s approval to the draft Manipur Pony Conservation and Development Policy, most of Manipuri ponies are now vanishing due to untrammeled development the valley that has destroyed meadows and reclaimed lakes. This has pushed the quadrupeds, one of only five indigenous Indian horse varieties that include the Marwari, the Kathiawari, the Zanskari and the Spiti, onto the streets.
Over the past few years, says sources in the state veterinary and animal husbandry department, the population of the Manipuri pony breed has been dwindling in the last livestock census done in 2012, the number had dropped to 1,101, a steep decline from the figure of 1,898 estimated during 2003.
