Hop on tourism dept bus and travel from Kalachi to Karachi

Sindh culture department inaugurates weekly tour of city's District South

KARACHI: Starting today, the Sindh culture department will be running a bus tour every week that will take city residents and the few tourists it attracts on a tour of landmarks mostly in District South.

The Karachi City Tour, called 'Kalachi to Karachi Tour', was inaugurated by Sindh culture, tourism and antiquities adviser Sharmila Farooqi on Saturday. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the Pakistan Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (PITHM) after which the inaugural tour began.

History lessons

The tour started with a cup of tea at PITHM. Uniform-clad drivers stood in front of two Sindh Tourism and Development Corporation (STDC) buses, which were draped in posters advertising the new tour.



The first landmark was Mohatta Palace whose director, Dr Nasrin Askari welcomed the participants. She gave a briefing on the textile exhibition, which is going on at the museum. With her passion for art and history spilling into her speech, Askari kept the audience engaged with her knowledge of antiquities.

Later, the group headed to Flagstaff House where the curator, Omar Qureshi, spoke about its history and the belongings of Quaid-e-Azam, which were brought in from his Delhi and Mumbai residence. Finally, the group headed to National Museum of Pakistan where curator Muhammad Shah Bukhari briefed the media about the relics placed in the museum.

Tour 101

According to the STDC, the tour for general public will start from today (Sunday) and will take place every week. The bus will leave at 10am from PITHM, located near Abdullah Shah Ghazi's shrine.



The bus will leave the institute and head to Mohatta Palace, after passing through Abdullah Shah Ghazi's shrine and Jahangir Kothari Parade. It will also pass through Frere Hall, Flagstaff House, Quaid-e-Mausoleum, National Museum, Merewether Tower, Mai Kolachi Road and then end the tour at Dolmen Mall, Clifton. A regular trip will last four hours and will cost Rs1,700 per head, which will cover the cost of the welcome tea, the air-conditioned transportation, guided tour, entry tickets and lunch with bottled water.

Come one, come all

"People have shown overwhelming response and interest in our tour package," said STDC's tour promotion officer Muhammad Aslam. Even a school headmistress inquired about arranging a tour for over 500 students, he added.

STDC managing director Nazir Ahmed Soomro said, "We can arrange a day tour for even a single person if he contacts us tomorrow [Sunday] because our aim is to facilitate people rather than making money out if it."

The tour guides hired by STDC are also experts in their field. Tour guide Vispi Billimoria told The Express Tribune that he has been in this field for 18 years. After the security conditions in Pakistan worsened, Billimoria left the tourism industry but now he feels happy to be back. "Peace has returned and so has tourism," he said. "Pakistan is full of exceptional tourist spots where anyone can visit but one needs the services of a tour guide to know the technical details about any landmark."

Addressing the media, Farooqi mentioned that her department initiated this project without taking financial help from the government. They will make use of two culture department vans in the initial stages for the day tours in Karachi. "We are charging very minimal amount from our clients but we want to make the service sustainable by accommodating the salaries of the tour guides, drivers and fuel," she said. "We will further improvise and include other landmarks."

The tours will offer group discounts for students, senior citizens and foreigners who wish to take the tour with us. "We can add sailing, crabbing and food tours and road trips to Thatta, Ranikot and Moen Jo Daro in the near future," she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2016.