BAMYAN CITY - A delegation of Meshrano Jirga or upper house of parliament expressed concerns over arrangements made in connection of a festival marking the central Bamyan province as the cultural capital of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Lailuma Ahmadi, head of religious and cultural commission of senate, said she was among the four member delegation visited different historic sites of the province on Saturday.

She said the departments concerned in the province did not do well their homework for to mark the event due to lack of budget and financial constraints.

Bamyan officials should expedite preparations to entertain guests particularly tourists, but there was no signs of arrangement despite allocation of $500,000 fund, she rued.

The event is expected to take place on June 5 in Bamyan City, the provincial capital, where tens of people including foreign guests and government officials would participate.

Ahmadi hoped the departments concerned would take all necessary steps for marking the event with zeal and enthusiasm because the event had special importance for Afghanistan. She also asked security forces to adopt strict security measures to thwart any untoward incident.

A day earlier, Bamyan officials announced the event would be held on the scheduled date.

Having historical importance, Bamyan was declared as the SAARC Cultural Capital for 2015 by a delegation of the organization in 2014.

Cultural programs and handicraft exhibitions and agricultural products from different provinces would also be showcased in the event.

The Ministry of Information and Culture said international event would be gloriously celebrated in which representatives of all Asian countries, members of SAARC, representatives of the United Nations (UN) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other officials would participate. (Pajhwok)