Historical places to be made more attractive for tourists: governor

LAHORE:Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar has decided to make religious and other historical places in Punjab more attractive for tourists.

He said that various steps including renovation of all historical places would be taken while the auditorium built with the expenditure of 30 million rupees was also opened for the public.

While talking to the media on Friday, Governor Punjab said that in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, it has been decided to make historical, religious and cultural sites more attractive for the promotion of tourism in Punjab.

There are holy places of different religions including Sikhs and Christians in Lahore and other cities of Punjab and 1.2 million people come to pay homage to the holy shrine of Holy Mary (Muqadas-e-Maryam) where various initiatives including road construction have already started.

There are historical places in Pakistan including religious holy places through which Pakistan can earn 4/5 billion dollars annually and we are taking steps to provide security and other facilities to tourists at all such places in Punjab and the historic Harappa.

In addition to building an auditorium, accommodation issues for tourists are also being addressed. Funds have also been approved for the construction of all the roads leading to Harappa city and a contract has also been awarded for the construction of a bridge under the railway crossing inside the city. In the days to come, Punjab will take lead from other provinces in terms of tourism promotion.

Ch Sarwar said that there are a number of tourist destinations in Pakistan. According to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, steps will be taken for the promotion of tourism. All the departments of the provincial government and tourism are on one page for the promotion of tourism and I am in touch with all the concerned departments, he added.

Governor Punjab urged the people to follow SOPs to prevent coronavirus spike otherwise the government will have to impose stricter lockdowns. The public should strictly comply with the SOPs and cooperate with the government so that coronavirus situation can be brought under control, he said.