PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has opened four of its Nathiagali-located rest houses, including the Governor House and Chief Minister House, to the local and International tourists.
“These colonial symbols which cost crores annually to the taxpayer in maintenance are now going to make money for the government,” Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted along with a video of the palatial Governor House at Nathiagali.
The magnificent mansion, located in the idyllic resort town of Nathiagali about 7,922 feet above sea level, will be available to visitors through an online booking facility managed by KP Tourism.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had ordered transfer of control of over 80 government-owned rest houses in the province including the Governor, Chief Minister, Speaker and Inspector General Houses to the provincial tourism department.
KP Senior Minister for Tourism and Sports Mohammad Atif Khan told that his department had completed the process and now people could register their bookings at these rest houses. Other rest houses that have been opened to the public include Police House and Karnak House. Bookings to these rest houses can be made on the Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa website.
Details provided at the website show that accommodation at Governor House starts at Rs40, 000, Chief Minister House at Rs24, 000, Karnak House at Rs18, 000 and Police House at Rs12, 000. However, Speaker House, which the government had earlier announced that it would also be open to the public, is missing from the list. Accommodation to cost Rs40, 000 at Governor House & Rs. 24, 000 at CM House
The minister said they were planning to gradually open 174 government rest houses located all over the province. He said that 47 rest houses would be opened in the next phase, 100 others would follow later. He said it would take some time to open all the government rest houses for the public because his department would have to first make these buildings habitable. But his department was facing
