KP government waives off photography fee in museums

The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has issued an order to waive off photography fee in all the museums and archaeological sites of the province forthwith in order to promote archaeology in the province. The students would also be allowed free entry and those researchers wishing to access the reserve collection (items not on regular display) would now also be permitted, according to a notification order here Sunday.
The fee waiver would apply on all commercial as well as personal video and still photography for a period of one year. "This landmark step has been taken to promote the field of Archaeology in the region and to draw domestic and foreign tourists" said Dr Abdul Samad, consultant, Archaeology & Museums.
"The tourist numbers to the region have dwindled in recent years due to various prevailing factors and this is a promotional move to attract documentary makers, writers, photographers, media teams and researchers to our museums and sites in larger numbers" he said. The new curator of Peshawar Museum Nidaullah Sehrai informed that museums in the province housed the finest collection of Gandhara Art unparalleled in the world but very few were aware of its significance.
Under the prevailing challenges, when the region needed favourable media projection, the commercial fee for videography upto Rs 20,000 was proving to be a hindrance in suitable promotion of the priceless relics. He hoped the government's step would go a long way in effectively publicising one of the best cultural assets of the province. He said many innovative initiatives were being planned to revive the former glory of the Peshawar Museum.
Sarhad Tourism Corporation, which has recently launched the Youth Tourism Development Program (YTDP) in collaboration with Sehrai Travels, was instrumental in convincing the authorities to issue the order in the larger interest of cultural tourism promotion.
Consultant YTDP, Zahoor Durrani appreciated the waiver of fee for students and underlined the need to spread awareness about the region's history and culture to the younger generation specially. The notification order further stipulates setting up of a separate Peshawar Museum fund account to receive donations for the upkeep of the museum. The fund would be maintained by a committee headed by Secretary Culture with representatives of finance department, directorate of archaeology and two reputed civil society members.