KARACHI: Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair said the other day that Gorakh, which is situated in Dadu district, is the main tourist attraction in Sindh. He said Gorakh is a cooler place, where the temperature remains moderate even in the hot months of June and July.
He expressed these views in a meeting with the Governor of Gilgit-Baltistan Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan who called on him in the Governor House.
Sindh governor said that the project of the Gorakh Expressway on the pattern of the Murree expressway is important to boost local tourism, as well, the economy of Sindh.
He said although Sindh lacks a standard hill station and a large number of local tourists visit different hills stations in Punjab, KP and Balochistan in summer vacations, huge revenue could be earned by the Sindh government if it develops the scenic hill station of Gorakh in Dadu district on international standards.
He further highlighted the role of infrastructure projects and its pivotal role in improving the economy in other provinces of Pakistan, especially Punjab, where huge sums of funds are being given to developing different tourist attractions, especially hill stations.
Dozens of tourist operators work in Sindh, especially Karachi and they send hundreds of thousands of citizens of Sindh on different tour packages to spend summer vacations in the cooler hilly area of northern Pakistan.
The governor said that these tourists who visit these areas individually could be easily lured to Gorakh if the government provides them better facilities.
Experts say that without upgrading the approach road to Gorakh to a bus-use road standard, tourists in a large number could not be attracted.
Presently, the road to Gorakh is a jeep-use road and tourists have to hire costly four-wheel drive vehicles to reach there. The high travel cost is a big barrier and a large number of middle and low-income families do not usually afford to visit this attractive hill station.
However, if the better road like the Murree Expressway is built here, thousands of visitors would be easily able to reach there every day.
Upgrading of the road, ensuring better water supply, provision of good hotels, motels and inns, besides installing chair-lifts could make Gorakh a big success.
If the Gorakh uplift projects are carried out in a serious and professional manner and special development funds are approved by the provincial and federal governments to make Gorakh a world-class tourist resort, this hill station alone could raise the economy of Sindh to a great extent.
Sindh governor underscored the importance of Gorakh Hills, saying the government is giving special attention to promoting tourism sector in the province.
He said the government is giving attention for the uplift of tourist resorts and historical places. He said investment has been pouring into Sindh province after the betterment of law and order situation, adding further steps are also being taken to attract even more investment.
Gilgit-Baltistan Governor Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan said that they are also taking steps to promote tourism in their province. He said Gilgit-Baltistan is mostly a hilly terrain and many projects are underway to ensure better roads and communication means there.
