ANYONE desiring warm sun, sparkling sand, balmy breeze and clear blue waters may not find anything better than Gwadar's golden beaches.

Visitors to this largely unadulterated landscape are awestruck with its pristine beauty and the natural grandeur that surrounds the spectacle of Balochistan's desert merging with the Arabian Sea's greenish-blue water.

Even as it is fast emerging as the future hub of communication, linking Central Asia with warm waters, Gwadar bears tremendous potential for tourism, offering opportunities for water sports, swimming, fishing or even plain sea gazing.

As one looks at the potential oftourism for Gwadar's beaches, there emerges a pressing need for maintaining a clean waterfront which can attract tourists.

Beaches are unspoiled as of now, there are some trash bins installed at some most scenic of the spots but the clutter left by the limited tourists needs to be looked after. Visitors are not aware of how to conduct themselves with restraint and discipline. Commercial ventures pay little attention to the impact of careless disposal of garbage on the ecology of Gwadar.

Unless we involve the public, the contamination and littering of beaches is but a fait accompli.During a recent visit it was heartening to find young students and teachers from the local Bahria Model School, duly armed with rakes and other implements, combing the water front and picking up, with great enthusiasm, the stray garbage strewn on the beautiful beaches.

Nothing could have been more educative and inspiring than seeing these youngsters setting an example for their elders by wholeheartedly involving themselves in preserving the great natural treasure that nature has bestowed upon our beautiful country.

GUL RAHMAN WAZIR Peshawar