Mansehra: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Mehmood Khan on Friday (July 17) announced that the restrictions imposed on tourism activities due to the COVID-19 outbreak will be lifted after Eid-ul-Azha — with the decision taken in light of the recent reported decline in the number of viral incidences, according to a news source.
However, the minister did add that tourist activities would only be resumed after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and other provincial governments approved of the initiative. The CM shared this information while addressing a public meeting held after the inauguration of five road projects in Shogran – a tourist resort in KP.
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At the moment, several development projects and schemes are underway in the resort town. As per the CM, ‘the KP government is committed to the people’s prosperity’, which is why it didn’t curtail its development budget despite facing a ‘PKR 53 billion deficit’.
Following the vision of PM, the provincial government has earmarked a large sum of money for carrying out development work at selected tourist destinations. In this regard, CM Mehmood earlier inaugurated development work at Ghanool Road, Shogran Road and Manoor Valley Road. The construction of these road projects is estimated to cost PKR 1.42 billion.
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The CM further revealed that his government had reserved PKR 2.4 billion in order to promote tourist activities in the Hazara Division. The funds are expected to be spent on the construction of a 370-kilometre-long road network that will help nature enthusiasts to explore previously untapped areas of the region.
