Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has ordered foolproof security, availability of petrol, diesel, food items and fully-equipped rescue staff as well as effective coordination between all the departments and district administration in the tourism resorts during Eid.
Each year hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to the hill stations in the province during Eid holidays resulting in overcrowding, traffic jams and shortage of food items as well as petrol. This force police to ban entry of tourists in order to evacuate stranded visitors.
This year the provincial government has put in place all the necessary arrangements to ensure law and order and to extend maximum facilitation to the tourists during the upcoming Eid holidays in the province.
Comprehensive plans have been chalked out for the tourist areas including Hazara and Malakand divisions. In order to review the arrangements to this effect, a high level meeting was held on Friday with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in the chair.
Chief Secretary Dr Shehzad Bangash, Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari, Principal Secretary to CM Amjad Ali Khan, administrative Secretaries of concerned departments and Director General Rescue 1122 attended the meeting. Commissioners and RPOs of Hazara and Malakand also attended the meeting via video link.
Briefing about the security plan and other arrangements made to facilitate the tourists during the Eid holidays in Hazara and Malakand divisions, it was revealed that all the arrangements with regard to the security of tourists and facilitations have been completed.
The forum decided that local administration, police, Rescue 1122, Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA), health centres and all other departments in the districts with tourist potential will remain on high alert during the Eid holidays and commissioners, RPOs, deputy commissioners, DPOs and assistant commissioners would also be present in their respective stations.
Written directives have been issued to all commissioners and RPOs to this effect. It was revealed at the meeting that the necessary steps were also being taken to ensure availability of petrol, diesel and food items in substantial quantity in Hazara and Malakand divisions. A dedicated helpline would be established to facilitate the people at tourist sites.
Special arrangements have been made to maintain the flow of vehicular traffic and to avoid possible road blockage during the Eid holidays in the province.
The participants were informed that mobile workshops, fork lifters and mobile canteens would also be available in the tourist areas.
Besides, in order to ensure the security of tourists, policemen would be deployed at tourist sites in special uniform. Moreover, availability of necessary medical staff and medicines at all health care facilities would be ensured to provide timely first aid to tourists in case of an emergency and control rooms were being set up to cope with any emergency situation.
Similarly, heavy machinery would be available for immediate rehabilitation and clearance of roads closed due to possible landslides.
The meeting was informed that the holidays of Rescue 1122 personnel across the province had been cancelled on the eve of Eid, therefore rescue stations across the province would remain open during Eid.
Emergency medical equipment and other supplies had been provided to all rescue stations. Besides, rescue 1122 was setting up special camps at various tourist destinations while divers’ teams along with rescue equipment would remain on alert at rivers, dams and other swimming places.
While expressing satisfaction over the arrangements made for provision of facilities and security to the tourists in the province for Eid, the CM directed ensuring implementation of the plan prepared for this purpose in letter and spirit.
He ordered that special attention should be paid to ensure availability of food items, petrol and diesel in abundance during the Eid holidays and foolproof arrangements should be made for the security of tourists in view of the prevailing situation.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2022.
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