Gorakh’s uplift remains a dream unrealised

A development plan was devised in 2008, yet 'Sindh's Murree' still lacks basic facilities

KARACHI:

For years, relevant authorities have been planning to transform Gorakh Hill into the province's Murree - a scenic, almost dreamlike tourist spot. And for just as long, it has remained just that - a dream that will seemingly remained unfulfilled.

There have been claims by the authorities of installing state-of-the-art facilities at the hill station, located at a height of 5,600 feet in Dadu's Kirthar Mountains. Yet, successive governments' alleged apathy and negligence towards Gorakh robbed it of whatever little facilities which were already available there.

"It is a wonderful place, with the same potential [to attract visitors] as Murree. Unfortunately, developing it has not been the government's priority," said a government official deployed at the station, who requested anonymity.

First identified as a potential tourist spot by the British government in 1860, it was in 1988 that late Pakistan People Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto undertook Gorakh's overhaul. Since then, the initiative remains in limbo, with the hill station witnessing no proper development.

A plan was then devised by the Sindh government for the purpose in 2008. The same year, the Gorakh Hills Development Authority was also established, tasked with planning and implementing development initiatives at Gorakh, as well as its management.

As per the plan, resorts, golf clubs, parks, a zoo, a chairlift facility, a helipad, waterfalls, houses, residential apartments, motels, slaughterhouses, vocational training centres, amenity facilities, such as schools, dispensaries, maternity homes, restaurants and tuck shops are to be set up at the hill station. Besides, initiatives have also been planned for industrial and socio-economic development.

However, most of these schemes, for which government officials claim Rs7 billion has been released so far, are yet to see the light of day.

According to a local journalist, Asif Jamali, "The government built eight summer resorts [at Gorakh], but they remain deserted owing to a lack of basic facilities."

Jamali, who lives at Gorakh, elaborated, "There are electricity poles here but no supply due to the non-payment of bills. Besides, water supply to the hills from tanks has been suspended because of technical faults in motors and the park developed some time ago is on the verge of destruction, crying out for maintenance."

He added that the chairlift facility, golf club, dispensaries, schools, a dam and other development schemes, too, only remained on paper.

In the absence of development, people residing at the hill station and in its surrounding areas are deprived of education, healthcare facilities, transport and other amenities. Relying on livestock and crops grown with rainwater for survival, they continue to live in abysmal conditions.

Imran Zaidi, who visited the hill station with his family last year, decried the dismal condition of road infrastructure.

"The main issue is the 52-kilometre road from Wahi Pandhi to Gorakh," he said. "It is in bad shape. Only 4x4 vehicles can travel on it. If a proper road is constructed, Gorakh will be a wonderful place to visit."

He further stated that while a water tank was installed at the spot, no tap water was available as water pumping motors were out of order. There was a restaurant and a tuck shop, but both were closed, he added.

Sources privy to the matter told The Express Tribune that the provincial forest department had launched a forestation scheme, worth millions, at Gorakh during the PPP's last tenure. But only a few dozen trees were planted, and those too have disappeared, they claimed. The National Accountability Bureau had initiated an inquiry into the matter, they added.

Yet PPP MNA Rafique Jamali, who heads the Gorakh Hills Development Authority, claimed that significant development had been carried out at the hill station.

"We have built eight summer resorts," he told The Express Tribune, adding that they had also started work on forestation and had already constructed a park at the hilltop.

"Plus, I have inaugurated a water supply line, carrying water from a stream at the bottom of the hill," he went on, adding that a mosque had also been constructed and shades set up alongside walking tracks and paths.

Jamali said that PC-1 for development activities, including the construction of the chairlift, a circuit house and a road for Rs3 billion, had been finalised. "The government has already awarded a tender for the chairlift facility and is negotiating with the Asian Development Bank for the construction of a road leading to Gorakh," he claimed.

Meanwhile, people like Zaidi await the development of the hill station with anticipation but little hope.

"It was 19 degrees Celsius at the hilltop compared to 42 degrees on the ground," he recalled. "It could easily be an alternative to Murree - but only if developed properly."

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2020.