The meeting at the Punjab Tourism Complex on Friday with Provincial Minister for Education and Tourism Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan in chair has envisioned Majestic Punjab and Vibrant Lahore projects under public-private partnership with the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation and the stakeholders affiliated with the tourism development in Punjab.
Under this initiative, a Craft Village will be established in the city suburbs while a Theme Park will be developed in Habanspura.
Moreover, Tourists Complex, Safari Train Project and development of tourists resorts will be accomplished in Kot Mithan district Rajanpur and a chairlift will be installed at Fort Manro in DG Khan under the same initiative.
Furthermore, it was decided in the meeting to establish an advisory board and a new Youth Tourism Wing in TDCP. The minister while elaborating the new initiative informed the meeting that the handicrafts, traditional food items and Punjabi culture will be preserved in the proposed Craft Village.
TDCP will transform the existing road from historic Bhatti Gate to Lahore Fort into History Street where more than 400 renowned personalities used to live. Allama Mohammad Iqbal and the freedom fighter Dulla Bhatti are also among these prominent personalities. The houses owned by these respectable personalities will be preserved and a 3-D electronic model of these houses will be placed at Bhatti Gate and the tourists would illuminate their place of interest by merely pushing a button, he added.
The minister directed the concerned authorities to contact COMSATS Lahore for preparation of 3-D model of all the 13 gates of the Walled City which will be placed at Shahi Hammam. The minister established a special committee to design the Theme Park to be developed in Harbanspura.
Rana also took notice of the tragic fact that the historic Naunehal Singh Haveli in the Walled City has been ignored to such an extent that this valuable heritage has gone ruined due to misuse by the tenants performing shooting of dramas and feature films. The minister constituted an enquiry committee to fix the responsibility in this regard.
