The 17th edition of the annual Cholistan Jeep Rally concluded on Sunday under the shadow of the mighty Derawar Fort after a weeklong festival that featured – besides the car, dirt bike and paragliding races – a tent-pegging competition, food street, trade fair, cultural night and camel race.

Every year, these festivities bring the otherwise tranquil desert to life with people from all over the country thronging Cholistan in groups in their 4x4s, camping for days and lighting bonfires in the middle of the expansive desert.

The crowd that gathers primarily for the jeep rally eventually ends up benefitting the local community that not just does a roaring business, but over the years has started enjoying basic facilities that were unthinkable only a few years ago. Since the first edition of the event in 2005, the face of Cholistan has changed drastically: there’s water supply, a carpeted road, farming, business opportunities and, most importantly, an annual carnival right in the backyard of the Cholistanis, who couldn’t be happier.

Waseem, who runs a khoka right next to a big dhaba on the main road that cuts through the vast desert, says they make good money in January and February -- the two months preceding the rally when the preparations begin. “There’s a lot of activity here. A lot of people from all over the country visit so it’s a good time for us every year. This wasn’t the case before the rally started or even in its early years. Hundreds of thousands of people come here and even if each person spends under Rs100, it makes a huge difference,” he tells Dawn on the last day of the rally as cars, jeeps and vans zoom off on their way to Derawar Fort.

Besides the business aspect, local Cholistanis have also witnessed scant infrastructural development in their region over the last few years. Saleem, who has attended the jeep rally a few times, including the very first edition, says he’s noticed a significant change.

“Cholistanis have benefitted in a big way. I remember the first rally I attended and there was just an uneven path through the desert and a handful of khokas. But now there’s a paved road making it easier to travel for both locals and the visitors. Plus, so many restaurants and other shops have popped up on both sides of the road over the years that make enough money during the entire week to last the owners till the next year’s event. The locals also have sweet water.”

The driver by profession tells Dawn that now the locals have this weeklong festival to look forward to every year right in their hometown, while earlier they had no source of recreation. This community primarily makes a living through livestock rearing, farming, and creating textile, cotton and wool products. Their artisans also specialise in leather and jewellery work.

Among the hundreds of police personnel deputed in Cholistan all week for the event, a traffic policeman on duty on a roadside echoes Saleem and Waseem that the event has been a boon to the community, socially and economically. “Although the road should be one way, as it’s not wide enough to hold all the traffic during the week, the fact that it’s been constructed has proved to be a huge relief for the locals.”

The jeep rally has also helped promote tourism to Cholistan desert – at least a 100 kilometres from Bahawalpur city.

Tourism Secretary Asadullah Faiz, who is also the Tourism and Development Corporation of Punjab managing director, feels that when there is a footfall of 400,000 to 500,000 people in an area and every person spends even Rs10, only the local populace will gain from it.

And the improvement is obvious, he tells Dawn, as shops and dhabas have opened up all along the way.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2022