KARACHI: A Japanese company has proposed to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah the idea of starting a ferry service from Do Darya in Clifton to Port Qasim along with the development of other water sports facilities at different barrages and lakes in the province, it emerged on Tuesday.

Official sources said that the proposal was presented by Yamaha Japan’s Yoshiyuki ITO, who is responsible for Central Asia and the Middle East, during a meeting with the CM on Tuesday.

They said that the CM told the Japanese company official that there was a great scope to develop water sports facilities at Keenjhar, Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri Barrages in collaboration with Yamaha Pakistan.

Mr Shah said that these facilities could be established through the private sector.

The visiting Yamaha representative told the CM that a ferry service could be established from Do Darya to Port Qasim for transport facilities and recreation.

Murad highlights scope of developing water sports facilities at Keenjhar, Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri barrages

He said that Yahama WaveRunners, technically known as Personal Watercraft (PWC) or water scooters, were the best sports.

It may be recalled that the CM had earlier said that the development of a jetty at Seaview was being planned to start ferry service from the Clifton area to the newly developed Manora waterfront beach.

However, sources said that work on the development of the jetty had yet to start.

Sports facilities for Special Olympics

Meanwhile, the CM said that the provincial government would establish special sports facilities for the Special Olympics and create employment opportunities in the province.

He also announced the hiring of Special Olympian Safeer Abid, a cyclist, as an Information technology (IT) official in CM House, as he also has expertise in the IT sector.

He made this announcement in his meeting with a 36-member delegation of Special Olympians, who were invited to CM House along with their coaches. The meeting was attended by Social Welfare Minister Sajid Jokhio, CM Special Assistant on Sports Arbab Lutfullah, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, and provincial secretaries.

The CM was told that Team Special Olympics Pakistan (SOP) joined the global stage for the Special Olympics World Games (SOWG) in Berlin 2023, held in June 2023. The SOWG is the world’s largest inclusive sports event.

Mr Shah was told that the SOP participated in these games with a delegation of 128 members, 87 athletes, including 53 males and 34 females, and 30 coaches in the 11 sports.

These 11 sports included athletics, badminton, basketball, bocce, cycling, football, powerlifting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, and field hockey, and Team SOP won 10 gold medals, 29 silver medals, and 40 bronze medals.

Addressing the special sportspersons, the CM said that his government would develop world-class sports facilities with different courts for the Special Olympics.

He directed the chief secretary to identify the land where the sports complex could be established. “The provincial government would provide you [the Special Olympics] with all the facilities, assistance, and employment opportunities so that you can lead a respectable life without depending on others,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2023