Koh-e-Suleman Festival On Aug 24 At Fort Munro

The maiden one-day Koh-e-Suleman festival is scheduled to be held on Saturday (August 24), at Fort Munro, the only hill station of South Punjab in DG Khan district

DERA GHAZI KHAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2019 ) :The maiden one-day Koh-e-Suleman festival is scheduled to be held on Saturday (August 24), at Fort Munro, the only hill station of South Punjab in DG Khan district.

Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar is expected to attend the festival at the hill station located some 85 kilometers from DG Khan city near Punjab-Balochistan boundary.

The hill station is 6,470-foot above the sea level while Murree is 7,516-foot above sea level.

A variety of cultural programmes have been arranged including traditional dance, music night, food street, exhibition of paintings, craft bazaar while tourists will also enjoy camping, an official of Fort Munro Development Authority told APP.

Fort Munro is part of Koh-e-Suleman mountain ranges and first festival titled 'Jashn-e-Fort-Munro' was first held at the hill station on August 14, 1990 when Fayyaz Bashir was DG Khan commissioner.

The festival is being organized on the orders of CM Buzdar, the second notable politician found taking keen interest in developing Fort Munro to promote tourism after former President of Pakistan Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari.

However, the latest initiative appears more dynamic and on solid foundations as the incumbent government set up Fort Munro Development Authority (FMDA) for infrastructure and recreational facilities upgradation on sustainable ground.

A proposal was also under consideration to set up Koh-e-Suleman Development Authority (KSDA) to make over 200 kilometres long stretch of mountainous area from tribal belts of Rajanpur to Baarthi in Taunsa Sharif, more developed with basic facilities and those necessary for promotion of tourism.

While FMDA has ten mauzas as area of jurisdiction, KSDA, if established, would be looking after over 350 mauzas in tribal areas on and around the mountains, says FMDA official.

Koh-e-Suleman festival would be a colourful event with tribal culture on display at the mountianous topography of Fort Munro.

Noted folk singer Shafaullah Khan Rokhri, Nadia Hashmi and Younis would be among the singers to perform at the musical night while food street would offer traditional tribal cuisine to satisfy the taste buds of tourists.