Saidpur Village steps into spotlight as tourist attraction
* Villagers demand compensation, involvement in project
By Imran Naeem Ahmad
ISLAMABAD: Saidpur Village, nestled in the lap of the Margalla Hills echoed with music and song on Tuesday evening that marked its soft opening as a tourist attraction.
But as Kamran Lashari, the chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) arrived at the marvellously spruced up village, a group of villagers demanded compensation and involvement in the project.
The residents addressed by local leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), held placards and shouted slogans to make their presence felt.
A short distance away, smoke from grills filled the air, dancing horses danced to melodious tunes with the trees and even the hills in the backdrop of the village having been beautifully lit up for the occasion.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani was expected to attend what was actually a dinner reception hosted by Lashari. However, he did not show up for security reasons.
Only a limited number of guests were invited for the evening and among them were a few foreigners and prominent businessman Sadruddin Hashwani.
A cool breeze that blew across the village made the evening quite pleasant as the guests went around appreciating the transformation of the village.
The key changes that have come about include the re-doing of a temple, the cleaning up of a stream running through the village and giving the mud houses a facelift.
Making buildings of concrete would never be an attraction for tourists but facilities like these would certainly draw them in, said Project Director Muhammad Shabbir Malik.
Everything in the village reflects the traditional ambience the temple, the stones used on the walls, the stacks of hay, the horse-drawn carts and all else shows what this Potohar region really was.
We have tried to create an atmosphere that matches our traditional Potohari area and we have made a corridor over there and the rest of the village has been only visually dealt with, Lashari told Daily Times.
However being a community project the CDA continues to face problems relating to relocating and compensating. The project had taken off with difficulty with the villagers suspecting the intentions of the Authority.
While seemingly the matter was sorted out, problems still keep cropping up every now and then as was evident from Tuesdays protest. Although low-key, the protestors were able to get their point across.
The CDA has made it clear that in setting up four categories of businesses at the village comprising cafes, craft, art gallery and designers, there would be active participation of the community.
Lashari said that Saidpur Village was one of the most creative projects the CDA had undertaken and also the most challenging. This is because there are 8,000 to 10,000 people living there and we have gone right into the heart of the community to create an oasis which will be of tourist interest, Lashari said.
We have restored a temple and have also established a gallery of pictures of Islamabad besides building a school so now people can visit this place although a lot of work would continue behind the scenes, he said.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
