In This Post:
Project Overview
Project Segments
Latest Updates
Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry initiated the Glorious Rawalpindi Project in June 2019 to facilitate citizens, enhance the natural beauty, and protect and rehabilitate the historical sites of the city. The project is going to transform everyday life in the city with elevated road networks, ultra-modern infrastructure, the community justice systems, and innovative environmental solutions.
What is the progress so far? How can you contribute to this initiative? Keep scrolling as we share more details about the project, including the prime objectives of the Glorious Rawalpindi Project.
About Glorious Rawalpindi Project
Let’s face the truth, Rawalpindi – a city known for its rich Buddhist heritage and the outstanding Raja Bazaar – is mostly overshadowed by its bigger twin brother, Islamabad. This prompted the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) to propose and pioneer a much-needed initiative under the umbrella of the “Glorious Rawalpindi Project”. In a nutshell, the project is aimed at helping the city regain its original but lost glory.
Given the project’s importance and need, the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Rawalpindi took the lead and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the RCCI to play its role in the overall beautification of Rawalpindi.
Now that you have a clearer understanding of the need and criticality of the project, let’s now take a better look at the prime objective of the “Glorious Rawalpindi” project.
Prime Objective of Glorious Rawalpindi Project
Besides being the 4th largest city in Pakistan and headquarters of Pakistan’s Armed Forces, Rawalpindi boats a distinct culture that can be seen in its ancient lanes, vibrant bazaars, aromatic food streets, and lush green spaces. It is no secret that much of its beauty has faded with time, and of course, lack of maintenance. Thankfully the RCCI has stepped in with an elevated aim:
“The prime objective of “Glorious Rawalpindi” project is to give an alluring renovation to the city by working on reviving the beauty and tranquillity of the city. RCCI and PHA both have agreed to work for the city’s clean environment, develop its crossroads and pavements and to improve the designs of its parks and revive its heritage back and providing a better environment for public thus leading to attraction of tourists”
There are seven pillars of this project and the RCCI, the PHA, and several other authorities are working methodically on the task mentioned below:
- Beautification of the City
- Infrastructure Development
- Economic Development
- Tourism
- Mass Transit
- Community Justice
- Water Conservation
- Environment Protection
- Investment Communications
Before we get into the individual details of the initiatives mentioned above, let’s take a look at the message the RCCI has shared with citizens:
“In order to achieve the glorification of our region we all must join hands to better ourselves, to think green, to feel hygiene, to believe in the importance of a single drop of water and understand what we feel we shall become. If we feel that our city environment is gratifying only then we shall reside in a pleasant environment and spread the same. For the Glory of this city, we all must support the cause for not only ourselves but for the generations to come.”
Now, let’s begin from where we left off and take a closer look at the different segments of the Glorious Rawalpindi Project.
Beautification of the City
As mentioned earlier, Rawalpindi is bustling with picturesque landscapes, cultural heritage, and antique buildings. There are several tourist attractions in old Pindi that were, sadly, forfeited to modernisation, or crumbled due to a lack of proper attention.
The RCCI has already taken notice of this need and has promised to pay attention to the fading glory of this city. The question, however, is “Who is responsible for the damage already done?”
If you think it’s only the authorities. Think again! People visiting these sites are also equally responsible for the damage.
The overall beautification of the city is linked to a few other pillars of the Glorious Rawalpindi Project that includes the rehabilitation of infrastructure development, mass transit, and environment protection. We will brief you on how you can also actively participate in this drive in the latter part of this blog.
Infrastructure Development
Right after beautification of the city, the next aim and one of the prime objectives of the Glorious Rawalpindi Project is infrastructure development. Before we start detailing the effort, let’s first understand how infrastructure development works and aids spatial growth.
Quite a lot of experts in the world believe that urbanisation turns into chaos if it is not backed with adequate planning and responsibility. We cannot deny this fact either, primarily looking at how modernisation has damaged the old and antique sites in Pindi. The infrastructure development under the Glorious Rawalpindi Project includes the construction of road networks and highways, power stations, transportation, communication, public services as well as the renovation of old structures. This effort will ultimately lead to a better quality of life in Rawalpindi.
Economic Development
We know for a fact that infrastructure development is directly connected to economic growth, and it is the driving force behind it. This sector is majorly responsible for boosting not only the city’s economy but propelling provincial development.
What are the means to achieve economic development? What is the RCCI adopting as their strategy?
So many questions, right? However, we have the answer. Keep reading the blog to get your questions answered.
Tourism
It is no secret that Punjab is a hotspot for both national and international tourists. The tourism industry of the province accounts for more than 20 million tourists every year. Hence, the RCCI have realised that it is an effective tool to drive and speed up local economic development.
So, to unlock the hidden potential of this industry in Pindi, the authorities will invest in cultivating lush green spaces, restoring archaeological sites, and reforming tourism policies.
Mass Transit
The use of public transport has declined over the past few decades. Well, one of the major reasons is that personal vehicles are becoming more affordable, but not everyone can afford them. To meet this deficiency and promote the use of public buses, the current transport system in Rawalpindi needs a major update. And, the RCCI has promised to transform the way people commute in Pindi.
Now, imagine finding a safe and comfortable pickup service around the corner of your work, school or home, and paying less than app-based ride-hailing services or overspending on fuel. Feels nice, right?
Community Justice
Unlike traditional justice, community justice programmes engage communities, governments, and law enforcement agencies for the prevention of crime. The primary focus of community justice is not based upon the traditional ways of judgement and has several alternate goals, such as:
- Preventing crime
- Finding ways to repair the harm done by crime/criminals
- Redefining the relationship between police and citizens
- Changing citizens’ perception of police
- Showing genuine concern for victims
The Glorious Rawalpindi Project is also dedicated to the implementation of community justice programmes and policies in Rawalpindi.
Water Conservation
No bones about it; water scarcity is still one of the grave issues threatening Pakistan’s existence. And, the RCCI has recognised the need for educating people to save the already-scarce water by starting the “Save Water” campaign under the Glorious Rawalpindi project. Here are a few things the RCCI has already started doing to raise awareness among citizens:
- Conducting seminars in educational settings and training them to spread the word
- Distributing flyers that highlight the conservation of water resources
- Targeting under-privileged areas to create awareness regarding water scarcity and its adverse effects on the environment
Simply put, the RCCI is doing everything that is required to promote water conservation – from educating people on adopting various ways to conserve water to introducing ways to recycle water.
Environment Protection
Protecting and caring for the environment is not an option you can swipe and move on from – it’s a necessity, and the RCCI has made it clear by paying special attention to the environmental aspect in this project. You can also be a part of this initiative by adopting a sustainable lifestyle and taking an active role in eliminating the use of hazardous substances such as plastic straws, plastic bags, and other disposable things. As much as you need to avoid polythene, you also need to minimise the use of natural as well as human-made resources.
Remember, you can begin alone and set an example, true sustainability comes from teamwork and collaboration. So, while you are embracing a waste-free life, educate the people around you about the evils of polythene bags and why Pakistani authorities are banning plastic bags. You don’t need a classroom or a similar setup to do so. You can easily exchange conversations over lunch, supper, or a cup of tea.
Investment Communications
As per the RCCI, “a healthy society also needs some extra-curricular activities apart from the curricular activities”. They believe that these events are extremely crucial for citizens to develop harmony and grow as a community together.
Hence, identifying the need and the importance of sports and other such activities in attracting foreign and local investments, the RCCI has been organising several social events and plans to arrange a lot more. Two major events organised under the umbrella of this drive were the T-20 inter-club tournament at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and a Chess Competition. You can keep track of these events by navigating to the official website of the project.
Official Website: http://www.gloriousrawalpindi.com/
Latest Updates on Glorious Rawalpindi Project
Citizens of Pakistan, especially people living in Rawalpindi and its nearby areas, will be glad to know that the project has already passed the crucial stage of planning and approval. The plan of the Glorious Rawalpindi Project is already on the move and is helping the city return to its glory.
As per the latest updates, the RCCI has planted around 1 lakh seeds in different areas of the city under the “My Green Pakistan” initiative that focuses on one of the fundamental pillars, i.e., Environmental Protection. As per the RCCI, “Plantation drive intends to fight against climate change and increase the public awareness regarding the significance of plantation in masses as it is not a just a need of time but mainly a form of Sadqa-e-Jaria”.
You track the progress of this campaign by bookmarking this page. In case you want to find out about other on-going projects in Punjab, head over to our recently published blog now.
If you have any questions or feedback regarding the details mentioned above, feel free to write to us at blog@zameen.com. On a side note, you might also be interested in knowing the reason why Islamabad was marked safer than Amsterdam, Sydney, and Berlin. For more informative posts, subscribe to Zameen Blog. Make sure to like our Facebook page.
