GUJRAT: The district administration is going to organise a “Bike rally and cultural gala 2020” on March 14 and 15, under one of its 12 initiatives namely “Explore Gujrat”.

The objective of the event is to give a fillip to local tourism in Gujrat, said a senior officer of the administration while talking to Dawn on Friday.

He said around 120 bikers, registered through various clubs, would arrive on Saturday (today) and will camp at night in Pabbi Forrest located between Kharian and Sara-i-Alamgir tehsils of Gujrat along GT Road whereas families of some bikers would also be accompanying them to spend two days at the camping.

There will be a music night coupled with an eat festival and bonfire on Saturday night where famous singer Sara Raza will perform.

Beside this, around 400-500 participants, including Forest Department secretary, commissioners and regional police officers of Gujranwala and Rawalpindi divisions and local public representatives have been invited to the event.

On Sunday, the bike race on a 15km long treacherous track of Pabbi will commence from a point on GT Road near Tariq petroleum and end at Rasul.

Sara-i-Alamgir Assistant Commissioner Aneesha Hashaam on Friday briefed Gujrat Deputy Commissioner Dr Khurram Shahzad during latter’s visit to the venue and the track, about the preparations of the event.

The bike rally in the Pabbi Forest, spreading over 37,000 acres of land, has become a regular feature in the spring season for the last couple of years.

Earlier the authorities had to postpone the event twice during the last couple of weeks due to bad weather conditions.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2020