Government officials, lawmakers, technocrats, and investors speaking during the Thar Investment and Tourism Promotion Conference on the sidelines of colours of Thar Festival on Sunday have observed that Thar has a very bright future in tourism and developing natural resources if the sector is properly promoted as per the dynamics of the desert region.
The Sindh Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah, the Sindh minister for culture, tourism and archives speaking as the chief guest said that the events like colours of Thar Festival and the conference under the aegis of Thar will change Pakistan would further foster the culture and would surely prove a milestone to attract the attention of the peoples of the world to visit Thar. Mr Shah said that organizing the cultural shows and events were best ‘weapons’ to fight with the menaces and ills of the society creeping in the minds of some unscrupulous elements.
Festivals and cultural events are the best solution to bring the people of different segments of society without any discrimination on the one same platform and to boost the budding talented people. Sardar Shah maintained that without giving the due space and respect to singers, musicians, artists and writers no region would get developed adding he said that such events would greatly bring changes in the attitudes of the minds and thoughts towards who were the actual builders and creators of the plural society. Sardar said that the people of Thar had always been a prosperous region and produced many giants.
He observed that such festivals and conferences would help his department to do more initiatives for the betterment of Thar and for the promotion of tourism in future. ” Thar might have faced malnutrition due to droughts but this has always been a beautiful and peaceful atmosphere over the centuries. He said and added that he was very much impressed with the way the organizers had arranged a number of the cultural events in just three days. ” I as a minister of culture and tourism has always given special focus to promote the tourism by establishing the resorts to provide the all required facilities to the people, who mostly pour in Thar after monsoon rains” he added and said that number of the projects were being carried out to make Thar as one of the best peaceful tourist spot. He said that he had also inaugurated a grand Marvi resort in Mithi to town all the required facilities to those touring the Mithi and other towns and spots of the desert.
Mr Asif Ikram the provincial secretary of investment department said that it was very unfortunate that no proper investment was being done by various departments to give the importance to the local products adding he said that Thar at the moment needed to be focused for not only its rich mines and minerals but also its mainstay of the economy, the livestock. “The sophisticated plans and policies under which livestock, the local agricultural products as such the traditional fruits and vegetables are preserved and marketed in a proper way” he added. Mr Ikram said that when he DC Tharparkar he with the other experts and activists from Thar had drafted and recommended a number of the policies including Thar Mitigation Policy to combat the terrible impacts of the incurring droughts. He said that tourism could never be promoted until the real other resources of Thar were not put in proper place. He said that there was the dire need to protect all historical and heritage sites of the desert district with the active participation and the supervision of the officials as well as the lawmakers from the desert district.
The CEO of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, Syed Abul Fazil Rizvi said that their mining firm and Thar Foundation had achieved the milestones not only in the development sectors but also in the coal extraction and the subsequent power generation. “We have established the biggest nursery of the province where we have produced over 2 million samplings under the policy which has also become a tourism point” he added and assured the participants of their full support in their effort to promote tourism in Thar. The provincial secretary for mines and minerals Syed Zulfikar Ali Shah said that the Sindh government had launched a number of the plans to further protected the hills of Karoonjhar from any damage adding he said that they had also documented certain laws which would be presented in Sindh Assembly for the proper legislation for the minerals of Thar including the precious granite of Karoonjhar hills.
Mr Shah dispelled the impression that Sindh government lease out the permits to extract the stones from the protected sites of Karoonjhar. He said that with the construction of as many as 34 small dams in the Parkar region to stone rainwater had brought there was an agricultural revolution in the region which he said would not only boost up the agriculture but also would promote tourism.
Dr Allah Nawazz Samoo , the CEO of Thardeep Rural Development Programme said that there was the need to promote ecotourism in the coming years by taking advantage of recent searches conducted by the experts of the various fields adding he said that there was the need to also boost the agriculture and other sectors by conducting the studies. Dr Samoo said that the experts of Pakistan Agriculture Research Council had already been invited to work and train the local peasants and people of Thar. PPP MPA Qasim Siraj Soomro said that the government of Sindh had launched a number of comprehensive plans to overhaul the infrastructure of the desert district.
