Revelers rock in desert

Sindh Cultural dept holds New Year Festival at Ranikot Fort

KOTRI:

Hundreds of people braved chilly weather and flood-hit roads to reach Ranikot Fort for enjoying the New Year festival in the desert. Sindh Culture and Tourism Department organised a New Year Family Festival at Ranikot Fort entertaining the audience including men, women and children from Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and other cities.

Minister for Culture and Tourism Sardar Ali Shah, Director General Munawar Ali Mehsar and SACM Veer Ji Kolhi were also present at the first of its kind festival featuring musical show, dance and theatre at the historical fort also known as Great Wall of Sindh due to its 31km-long fortified wall connecting many mountains of Kirthar Range. A bonfire was also organized on this occasion, which kept the weather warm even in the harsh winter.

Folk and pop performers left the audience swaying while mini-theatre brought laughter and cheer on the cold night. The spirited jhomar, hojamalo and bhangra performances forced many an audience to get up and dance to the traditional beats.

Stalls of ajrak, cap, rilli and other Sindhi handicraft made quick bucks while food and drink stalls also kept attracting customers, particularly, the tea stall that kept serving steaming hot brew to people who were actually 'chilling out' in the open air of the Ranikot Fort. Swings were also set up for children's entertainment, which were appreciated by the visitors.

The audience celebrated the Happy New Year night with great enthusiasm. Speaking to the media on this occasion, the provincial minister said that he prayed that the New Year would prove to be good for Pakistan economically. We have given the people an opportunity to celebrate by conducting this program on the night between the last day of the year and the first day of the New Year. "2023 is election year, we hope that Allah Almighty may guide people to elect people who will give relief to the nation," he said.

The previous two governments had completed their term, this government will also complete its term. Only, God knows what will happen in the New Year, Shah said. Flood-hit road The tourist who arrived to participate in the festival travel the 25km route from Sun point on Indus Highway with great difficulty. In view of the current flood situation, the road has been completely destroyed for several kilometers and it was very difficult to travel due to the hillocks, which took hours. While at two places, people who came for recreation were worried due to flood water.