MULTAN, Jan 6: The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab is planning to hold a two-day 'Kite on Height' festival at the Fort Munro in spring this year to attract tourists to the only hill station of South Punjab.

The event, according to TDCP Regional Manager (Multan) Shoaib Ahmad, would transform into 'Kite on Height at Night' after the daylight gala. Big lights will be installed to facilitate kite-flyers at night.

"Tentatively, the event would be held towards the end of March or in April - a time when weather is expected to be pleasant." However, he said, the final date would be announced after the conclusion of the three-day Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally in the middle of March.

Besides kite-flying, there would be camp-fire ceremonies, few camping sites and stalls of refreshments and eatables to facilitate the tourists at the Fort Munro (which is located at an altitude of 6,470 feet and 85 kilometres away from Dera Ghazi Khan in Suleman Mountain Range near the Punjab-Balochistan border).

Famous food chains, hotel managements and multinational firms would be invited to set up stalls, he said. He also said the Anari Hill of the town had been identified as the most suitable site for kite flying.

"Surface there is a bit uneven, but this is what adventure is all about," he told the news agency, adding kite-flying at Fort Munro heights would be a blend of fun and adventure.

TDCP Managing-Director Irfan Ali said the Punjab government was committed to transforming the Fort Munro into a genuine tourist attraction for which coordinated efforts had been launched by the departments concerned.

Dera Ghazi Khan-based MPA Abdul Aleem Shah said the National Highway Authority was widening the 31-kilometre portion of the main road from Rakhi Garj to inter-provincial Boata check post.

In addition, the link road would be widened up to the Fort Munro at a cost of Rs75 million, he said, and added that Rs100 million would be spent overall to upgrade facilities there by the next fiscal year. -APP