Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid while speaking with Geo News said that people still want to go to Murree but we will not let them.
“Nothing went wrong. People came in large numbers. We need to construct two or three Murree’s, three or four Nathia Gali’s. We need to understand that Murree alone cannot bear the weight of tourism,” said Rashid.
Nothing went wrong, just too many people turned up in Murree, we need more tourist spots: Sheikh Rasheed pic.twitter.com/JWYiA6NIhp
“Murree is not under me, it comes under Punjab, yet I sealed it yesterday around 5pm,” said the minister.
Sheikh Rashid, when asked if the government had taken necessary precautions and cautioned citizens would the situation have been better, responded negatively and said, “Nothing would have happened if they [government] were there.”
“People want to sleep in their cars. They are fighting with us right now, [to be removed]. We took them out with such difficulty. They should see the conditions, and yet they have taken small children with them,” said Rashid, adding, ” they are busy taking selfies.”
Nestlé in collaboration with KP Tourism Dept, World Bank and GDA launched the TREK communication campaign in Nathiagali to promote responsible tourism. It includes radio & geo-targeted social media awareness campaigns for tourists, installation of information boards.
Earlier in December 2020, Prime Minister Imran Khan had unveiled the logo for TREK, which is part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development (KITE) project and has been listed amongst the federal government’s key achievements of 2020.
The launch event featured tree plantation, an awareness walk and the unveiling of awareness signages installed in various parts of the Galiyat district.
Highlighting Nestlé’s vision for a waste-free future, Samer Chedid, CEO Nestlé Pakistan said, “At Nestlé, our vision is that none of our packaging, including plastics, ends up in landfill or rivers. To achieve this, we have set ourselves the commitment of ensuring 100% of our packaging is reusable or recyclable by 2025.”
“We are excited for this partnership on responsible tourism: we will be shaping a waste-free future by driving new behavior that contributes towards a cleaner environment.”
Meanwhile, Raza Ali Habib Director General, Galiyat Development Authority said, “GDA in collaboration with Nestle, KITE World Bank and Tourism Department is making all out efforts to promote responsible and sustainable tourism in Galiyat under the TREK initiative.”
“This includes massive fruit tree plantation drive, anti-littering campaign, distribution of reusable cotton bags and a nationwide awareness campaign,” he added.
Tauseef Khalid, Project Director, KITE said, “TREK is an initiative under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development (KITE) project being implemented in partnership with the World Bank Group and Nestlé Pakistan.”
Tauseef highlighted that under TREK, the government was arranging provision of solid waste management equipment to keep the area waste-free as well as installing information boards.
“We are training local communities on waste minimization and collection, and facilitating tourist sites by providing restrooms under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development program,” he said.
Kiran Afzal, Senior Private Sector Specialist, of the World Bank Group conveyed that the occasion marks an important phase of TREK’s implementation, and “we expect to see more contributions from the private sector towards responsible tourism.”
Nestlé Pakistan’s commitment to TREK includes 2 pillars: A Massive Awareness Campaign focusing on Reduce, Reuse and Recycle and a Community Engagement plan which includes activities that will help in countering the issues of waste, pollution and destruction of wildlife.
Participants at the event highlighted the government’s role in promoting tourism, planning better infrastructure for improving accessibility, rescue services and special zones for tourists in the region.
