BAHAWALPUR: The administration and the Bahawalpur Chamber of Commerce & Industries (BCCI) on Thursday launched an ambitious project, ‘Explore Bahawalpur,’ for promotion of tourism and associated economic activities in the region.

This was revealed in a public ceremony attended by representatives of various segments of society, including traders, lawyers, academics and journalists.

The project is aimed at putting all information together for potential tourists at a website (www.explorebahawalpur.com), which was also unveiled during the ceremony. It provides information related to tourist attractions in the region, modes of travel, boarding facilities, restaurants, shopping opportunities, rent-a-car services and other activities that Bahawalpur offers, along with online booking. Any person interested in visiting Bahawalpur can make all required arrangements through the website.

Tourists can make required bookings on its website

The salient features of the Explore Bahawalpur include acknowledgement of the late Bahawalpur Nawabs’ services, preservation of heritage, including restoration of nineteen crumbled forts, upkeep of Nawabs’ palaces, excavation of Cholistan to discover the remnants of the Indus Valley Civilisation and the development of Lal Sohanra National Park.

BCCI President Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali Mann invited the citizens to avail the economic opportunities in tourism and invest in quality hotels, restaurants, transport sector, handicrafts, adventure tourism and other such ventures.

DC Zaheer Anwar Jappa vowed to make Bahawalpur a hub of winter tourism for tourists from not only Pakistan but other countries of the world too.

Commissioner Dr Ehtasham Anwar talked about completion of several uplift projects and highlighted the importance and significance of the historic Bahawalpur.

He said Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) Director General Kamran Lashari had been approached to assist the administration in the establishment of a theme park in Bahawalpur while Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi had also approved the establishment of a hockey academy in Bahawalpur to train the young talent in hockey.

Dr Anwar also mentioned the introduction of masstransit system between Lahore and Bahawalpur for convenience of the tourists and the first-ever model waste management system in the city.

Dr Ehtasham Anwar Mahaar also disclosed that the Borstal Institute and Juvenile Jail had been recently converted into a boys’ boarding facility with all basic and educational facilities for its inmates.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2023