City’s British-era iconic Bison polo ground set to lose its past glory with SCB decision to use it for sports and cultural activities

The Bison Polo Ground in Secunderabad, a historic British-era site, may see its last event as it’s repurposed into a sports and cultural complex with facilities like tennis and basketball courts

Hyderabad: In mid-April, the iconic Bison Polo Ground in Secunderabad Cantonment witnessed horse-mounted players take part in an exhibition match between the Hyderabad Polo and the Indian Army’s elite 61st Cavalry Regiment.
That match could be the last event for this sprawling and iconic British-era Bison Polo Ground, one of the last 17 polo grounds of the Hyderabad.

The ground that hosted scores of such events over the past 200 years is now set to be repurposed as the Secunderabad Cantonment Sports and Cultural Complex. In its Board meeting in the month of April, the Secunderabad Cantonment Board has taken a decision to utilise the Bison Polo Ground for sports facilities and cultural activities.

According to the ‘general land records’ (GLR) of the Defence Estate Office, Telangana, the Bison Polo Ground located is spread over 37.565 acres and classified as A-1 Defence Land. Army authorities have been using the sprawling lung space for army training camps and polo matches.

The historical backdrop of the Bison Polo Ground is that the ground was used for artillery camps and training for the British and the Nizam forces.

SCB Cantonment Engineer, Ch Uma Shankar, told ‘Telangana Today’ that the decision regarding the Bison Polo Ground was aimed to encourage sports and cultural activities among the local residents by developing facilities in the open ground with tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball courts, pickleball courts, and others.

“The SCB will follow the terms and conditions prescribed by the Ministry of Defence. There will be no permanent big structures built on the land,” he said. SCB officials said that around 200 decades-old trees surrounding the Bison Polo Ground would be protected.