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Sibi festival concludes with vows of promising future
QUETTA: Provincial Minister for Information and Technology Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal has said that the traditional festival of Sibi (Sibi mela) is not only important for the province but also for the entire country.
He said this at the concluding session of the 5-day traditional Sibi festival at the Sardar Chakar Khan Domki Stadium.
He said that the festival not only played a role in the uplift of the economy through cattle trade but also played a role to enliven our culture and history for more than 100 years.
Many other dignitaries and officials were also present on the occasion, including Provincial Health Minister Mir Rehmat Baloch, Adviser on Livestock Ubaidullah Babat, Provincial Minister for S&GAD Nawab Muhammad Khan Shahwani and MPA Manzoor Kakar.
Addressing the gathering, the speakers said that the Sibi festival had been traditionally celebrated for more than a hundred years, adding that it plays a dual role of promoting and keeping alive culture on the one hand and strengthening the economy on the other.
They said that various stalls were placed by the agriculture department in Sibi festival to create awareness regarding the importance of agriculture and new inventions thereof.
They said that the current government desired to upgrade the festival, adding that previously not only the president and prime minister would attend the mela but dignitaries from neighbouring countries would also attend it. They regretted that this does not happen anymore, and said that the festival would be organised and celebrated in a new way next year.
They said that Sibi was a historical city and the divisional headquarter, however, it did not have any railway link with all its districts, including Ziarat, Dera Bugti and Kohlu. They said that work on the Sibi-Rakni Road had been subjected to delay for want of budget.
They said that the government would make efforts to get funds released from the centre so that the Sibi-Harnai railway track could also be restored.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk