|
Museum to be set up at Mitharam Hostel site: Palejo
By Imtiaz Ali
Karachi
The Sindh Government plans to set up a museum at the Mitharam
Hostel, currently being used by the Pakistan Rangers — as per the
assurances of Federal Minister for Interior, Rehman Malik, that the
hostel would be vacated in the next two months — said Culture and
Tourism Minister Sassui Palejo.
Talking to The News on Thursday, the
Minister said that the city needs a museum because the Culture
Department requires a place in the city where the culture,
civilisation and heritage of Sindh is promoted. A museum will be
useful in this regard, Palejo said.
Talking about tourism and future
projects, she said the Sindh Tourism Development Corporation (STDC)
has been made functional recently after 18 years of inactivity.
After activation of the STDC, the Gorakh Hill Resort and Keenjhar
projects have also been launched, while the Gorakh Hill Development
Authority has also been established, added the Minister.
Around 2,000 acres have been allotted
for developing recreational spots while tree plantation will be
carried out on a 13-kilometre-long strip, she revealed.
With the development of the resort,
locals will benefit immensely in terms of employment, while
environment-friendly policies and protection of wildlife will be
given preference, Palejo said. She added that in order to provide
security, police check posts will be set up after every eight
kilometres.
Palejo said that the federal
government has promised to give Rs200 million this year for the
project, while the Sindh Government will also provide equal funds on
a 50 per cent basis. With the provision of modern facilities, a
resort of international standard will be set up there, she hoped.
She further said that apart from the
Gorakh resort, the government is also focusing on the development of
Keenjhar Lake. A master plan is being prepared and an area of around
100 acres has already been identified. The plan will hopefully be
completed within three years, she said. Under the proposed plan,
three-star motels, auditorium, recreational spots and a big water
park will be developed there.
She also said that on the instruction
of the President, Jhampir side of Keenjhar will also be developed.
For this purpose, she added, the government has imposed a ban on the
allotment of land on Jhampir. It will be linked with Super Highway
near Nooriabad, providing access to the residents of Thano Bola Khan
and others towards Keenjhar. Six huts will be completed by June 30,
while six more will be constructed within the next three months with
the provision of better facilities.
In order to curtail drowning
incidents, a watch tower will be established for the first time
where emergency boats and life jackets will be available. Besides,
emergency centres have already been established where doctors
provide first-aid while an ambulance is available for meeting any
eventuality, she elaborated.
She further revealed that there is
also a plan to set up a laboratory to ascertain the historical dates
of archaeological sites. Culture Secretary Shams Jafrani added that
problems were being faced in identifying the historic period of
recently discovered “Lakhan Jo Daro”, and they had sought help from
a laboratory in Italy. The Minister acknowledged that there is a
dearth of trained archaeologists.
Palejo also said that recently, a
meeting of all District Coordination Officers (DCO) was called in
which it was decided that one million rupees would be allocated to
each district for the preservation of historic sites. Besides, a
plan worth Rs190 million has also been launched for the preservation
of Rani Kot and Kotdiji.
She said an endowment fund for the
welfare of artists is also being launched, while 17 volumes of the
encyclopaedia of Sindh is being prepared, out of which two volumes
have already been published.
The News: Saturday, June 13, 2009 |
