Slack tourism hopes to see revival

By Ballav Dahal

The on-going season was not very encouraging for the tourism industry and there are doubts about the tourism industry beginning to recover from this autumn. The industry has not received significant bookings until the end of August.

"This season does not look too favourable," says Ang Tshering Sherpa, the newly elected President of Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA). He cites the state of emergency and the negative presentation of Nepal in the international media as two of the reasons.

Autumn is considered as crucial for Nepalese tourism because it is the start of an almost seven months of unterrupted tourist season from September to April.

The country gets the largest number of tourists during this season.

Sherpa, who is the chairman-cum-managing director of the Asian Group of Companies, says the flow of tourists may come down due to the heavy floods in Europe. "Some European groups have already said that they would not be visiting foreign countries this season."

According to Sherpa, the general election in November may also shoo away some prospective visitors. "Foreigners are watchful of elections in this part of the world," he says. He says the number of trekkers and mountaineers will also go down during this season.

"Despite this, we are optimistic that the tourism business will be revived," he says.

Joy Dewan, President of the Nepal Association of Travel Agents (NATA), hopes that tourism might see the revival with the arrival of the new year. "Air business was good in August," he says.

But he said the major travel agencies are saying that business has failed to rebound, says Dewan, who is the managing director of the Zenith Travels that represents the Qatar Airways in Nepal.
Gautam Das Shrestha, former President of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), says the government and the political parties have to focus their activities on addressing the internal problems such as the law and order.

"The tourism business will revive only after peace is restored fully," says Shrestha, who is the Managing Director of Hotel Sherpa.

Shrestha opines that the government, Nepal Tourism Board as well as the private sector should join their hands to give a boost to the ailing tourism business.

Nepal's rich natural and cultural heritage have made the country known to the world as a holiday destination.

The diverse geographic and climatic conditions, mountain ranges, green valleys, unique traditional cultures and languages of the different ethnic communities and historic, cultural and religious monuments are the major attractions for the foreign visitors in Nepal.

The national parks, wildlife reserves and pilgrimage sites scattered across the country also lure foreign visitors. But the man-made factors has affected the tourism industry.

In the meantime, revealing NMA's plans to promote the mountain tourism of Nepal, Sherpa says that he has asked for time to make a presentation about Nepal's mountain peaks and the trekking areas and the real security situation during the annual meeting of the Union of International Alpines Association (UIAA) to be held in the US in October this year. UIAA is the umbrella organisation of all the alpine clubs of the world.

"We will inform the UIAA members about the International Mountain Museum in Pokhara, opening of new peaks and the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the first human ascent of Mt. Everest," he says.
Next year, Nepal is going to be the meeting ground of all the summiteers of Mt. Everest.

All the summiteers will be honoured on May 29, 2003 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first successful climb of Everest. NMA is also planning to organise the meeting of the expedition committee of the International Mountaineers Association (IMA) in Nepal next year. Similarly, Nepal has requested the Union of Asian Alpines Association (UAAA) to hold its meeting in Nepal in 2003.
He believes that the participation of Nepal in these forums will be helpful in promoting Nepal's mountain tourism.

"The Nepalese have started to recognise the mountaineers as national figures like in other countries. This is very good," Sherpa says.

HAN's ASEAN sales mission

By A Staff Reporter

An eight member delegation of the Hotel Association Nepal led by President Narendra Bajracharya is on a weeklong sales mission program to Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

The delegation will interact with travel agents, tour operators, media people, tourism authority of Thailand, Singapore & Malaysia.

The delegation will discuss with travel related associations of these countries to promote Nepal in these countries, said a press statement of HAN.

Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are the potential market for promoting Nepal as these countries are the gateway of European and American travels to South East Asia. Singapore, Thailand & Malaysia receive million, 9 million and 10 million tourists receptively every and most of the travelers decide their future voyage after coming to these countries.

If we are able to lure even 5-10% of the tourists to visit Nepal it will help to significantly increase the number of tourist arrival in Nepal, HAN said. HAN aims to promote Nepal as adventure, culture and nature destination.

Maru Ganesh: Temple without pinnacle

By Bhimsen Thapaliya

In the southwestern corner of the Kathmandu Durbar Square, close to the historic Kasthamandap building, there lies a small shrine of Ganesh. A significant feature of this shrine is that, unlike other temples, it has no pinnacle.

Everyday a large number of people throng this temple - it is more so on Tuesday - because Tuesday is the day of Ganesh - and on Saturday because it is a holiday. The number of daily visitors and the serpentine queues on Tuesdays prove that the Maru Ganesh is very popular.

In Newari, the local language of Kathmandu, 'Maru' means 'none or nothing'.

This temple derives its name from the absence of a turret, a component that crowns a temple. So, the word indicates that there is no steeple to crown the temple.

Maru Ganesh, also called Ashok Binayak, is an important deity of the royal family. Several rituals of the King and other members of the royal family performed here.

On auspicious functions, the King and the Crown Prince visit this temple and seek blessings. Before the Royal Palace was shifted to Narayanhity, Hanumandhoka was the seat of the royalty, and the Maru Ganesh being in the neighbourhood of the royal palace, naturally it was associated with royal family.

The tradition started when King Prithvi Narayan Shah, a pious king visited this temple and offered prayers after he had conquered Kathmandu.

Ganesh is taken as a god protector and there are temples of Ganesh at the four points of the valley with different names. Surya Binayak lives in a wooded shrine in Bhaktapur while Chandra Binayak is in Chabahil.

Jala Binayak lives in his water abode at Chobhar, on the way to the temple of Dakshinkali and Ashok Binayak is the Ganesh residing in the heart of the city. The dark mark on the moon is believed by the people here as of the tree of Ashoka.

The name Ashok Binayak comes from this legend. The Ashoka flowers are engraved on golden plates on both sides inside the temple.

At the door of the temple are a pair of glittering lions. Brass flags stand on both sides of the door. From outside, the stone image of Ganesh is visible.

The metal image of the god is kept at a separate building west of the shrine. This building is called Deo Chhen or the house of the god.

This image is placed inside the temple on Tuesdays. On the eastern side of the temple, a large bell hangs from a stone pillar.

If one walks towards south from the temple, there is a community stone spout called Maru Hiti. On its east, there is a Sattal (public rest house) and shrines of Hanuman and Saraswati.

A little farther, there is the temple living goddess Kumari. The Kasthamandap lies on the south where the four different images of Ganesh are placed.

Maru Ganesh is unique in its architecture because it is the only temple in Kathmandu without a turret.
It is said that the god himself had ordered not put a pinnacle on the temple.

Pay a visit to this temple to observe the active devotional life and be part of it.

Lighting project to illuminate Kathmandu

By A Staff Reporter

If a proposal of a private agency gets a green signal from the local authorities, Kathmandu will have new lightings and even 'light & sound' programmes to give some gloss to Kathmandu's nightlife.
The Priti Sound and Light Communications Private Limited has come up with a plan to brighten up the looks and the attractions of the historical sites, palaces and temples of the valley by installing floodlights, neon lights and other illuminating effects. These lighting will be blended with sound tracks to entertain the visitors with drama presentations.

Jaya Rajya Laxmi Shah of Priti Sound and Light Communications said that they have plans to cover the Trichandra College, King Mahendra's statue, Singha Durbar, Jagannath Dewal, statue of Juddha Shumshre, Tundikhel and Hanumandhoka palace with illuminations. "It is a new concept whose success depends on the cooperation of local authorities," she added.

Asked if it was proper to introduce such a costly and interfering technology in our heritage sites for commercial purpose, Subash Niraula of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) said no commercial deals have been finalised yet.

Replying to a question as to whether any research was done on the effects of the new installations on tourist arrival and length of their stay, Niraula said study on this front was going on.

BP Highway to change lives of people

By Our Correspondent

KAVRE, Aug. 26: The B.P. Highway is yet to be completed, but it has already started showing how transportation can change the lives of the people. Forty-five out of the 55 kilometres of the Dhulikhel-Nepalthok section of the highway are already motorable, and this has generated new opportunities to the people in the villages, which were previously inaccessible. Most of the people here are involved in the dairy business.

When there was no road, Bhimkhori village development committee (VDC) in southeast Kavre used to be a three days' walk from the district headquarters. Now, there are collection centres at almost every tole (locality). What's more, milk is collected in trucks from the doors of the villagers.

Kavre is the country's largest milk producing district, and the B. P. highway will only help see this business grow.

Dhanjaman Tamang of Kerabari of Bhimkhori said the life of his family has changed for the better after they started selling milk. After some villagers got into the milk business and started earning money, others, who spent their time drinking and gambling, followed suit. Now, there is no house, which does not have at least two buffaloes tied to the stakes. "People, who in the past had to sell grains or cattle to make some money, now have some ready cash with them," he said. Those social evils have also decreased substantially.

VDC chairman Prem Prasad Swangtan said the people who did not mind walking three days to sell butter and hard cheese are even more enthused. "The road has not only provided us with comfort and facilities, it has become our destiny to prosperity."

Now, the people want to revive a cheese factory that was long abandoned. The factory was built 37 years ago at Jukepani of Bhimkhori VDC with Swiss assistance to produce cheese. Milk was collected from this and other neighbouring villages.

"The factory has six permanent houses built on 20 ropanies of land and equipment worth millions of rupees. Locals say the butter and cheese produced here used to be lifted by helicopters. The factory has remained closed since 1985, after its products proved too expensive in the market.

The factory complex looks like an old abandoned palace, and the land surrounding it is covered with bushes and weeds. "The land is no more cultivable," people say. The only way to utilise the property is to develop it into a chilling centre. If this can be done, it will benefit thousands of people living to the southeast of Kavre and tens of thousand more of Sindhuli and Ramechhap after the Banepa-Bardibas road is completed.

Sagun Sharma crowned Miss Purbanchal

RSS

DHARAN, Aug. 26: Miss Sagun Sharma from Biratnagar was crowned "Miss Purbanchal-2002" in the east regional level beauty contest organised by the Uttam Creation, Dharan.

Seventeen girls from the eastern development region had taken part in the regional level beauty contest organised for the first time in the eastern region.

Jarina Shrestha was declared the first runner-up and Chandani Limbu the second runner-up of the contest. Similarly, Miss Sushma Rai was declared, "Miss Catwalk" and Kopila Angbuhang "Miss Friendship".

The winner and the runners-up of the contest were presented with various prizes on the occasion.

Children's paintings to be exhibited in USA

RSS

KATHMANDU, Aug. 26: Perhaps the happiest day for a young boy studying in grade four is the day when he carried one of his sick relative in a "Doko" (a kind of basket) across hills and mountains towards a sub-health post for treatment.

This is the theme of a painting that won the first prize at an art competition organised at Chhampi village of Lalitpur district Sunday.

The painting, done by Shiva Kumar Nagarkoti, who is studying at local Shree Ganesh Primary School, has been selected for competition in a children's art competition involving the paintings by children from 10 countries across the world to be held in the USA under the aegis of the children international.
Besides this, there are nine other paintings by children that have been selected for the competition.
They include the paintings of Manoj Nagarkoti, Sanukanchhi Nagarkoti, Shekh Lal Nagarkoti, Sunita Nagarkoti, Krishna Bahadur Tamang, Bhim Bahadur Nagarkoti, Babin Kumar Bista and Narayan Thapa.

These paintings, among other things, very vividly portrays the artists' moods and feelings on various aspects of a child's life such as a child who has to crush stones for a living, a girl going to a forest to collect fodder for the cattle while another boy is going to school with a satchel on his back.

Altogether 30 children from Chhampi Devi Secondary School, Shree Ganesh Primary School, Shree Buddha Primary School and Bhagawati Primary School of Chhampi VDC had taken part in the competition organised by an institution called Bal Pahila.

Review of 1950 treaty must: Shrestha

RSS

KATHMANDU, Aug. 26: The country's foreign relations experts and political scientists have emphasised that Nepal needs to move ahead its relations with its friendly neighbouring countries as per the national interests and in keeping with the changing context.

They expressed this view while speaking at a talk programme on "Nepal's relations with India and China in the present context" organised by Political Science Association of Nepal (POLSAN) and the mathematics and Political Science Teaching Department of the Balmiki Vidyapeeth here Sunday.
Former MP and foreign relations expert Hiranya Lal Shrestha remarked that Nepal's relations with its neighbouring friendly countries India and China was of special importance and pointed out that all the three countries should march ahead with a bond of brotherly relations for the sake of peace, security and prosperity in Asia.

He pointed out that all the three nations should convince one another in words and deeds that their territories would not be allowed to be used against any of the neighbouring countries.

Mr. Shrestha underlined the need for a review of the 1950 treaty for the development of a new approach on Nepal-India relations.

Dwelling on the possible threats from Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) that might occur due to the global warming and the deterioration of environment in the developed nations, he spoke of the need for all the countries lying on the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin to join hands in seeking a solution to the problem.

It is necessary to involve China which has common borders with various SAARC countries and move ahead the process of dialogue for promoting south-south cooperation, he suggested.

He also underlined the need for the return of Indian troops from Kalapani, resolving border disputes in a specified time and non-interference in each other's internal affairs.

Describing the recent state visit of His Majesty the King to India and China as a reflection of the continuity towards further deepening the existing friendly relations with the neighbouring friendly countries, he expressed the view that the state visits has helped in winning the goodwill of the neighbouring countries towards Nepal.

Professor (Dr.) Soorya Lal Amatya opined that because Nepal has adopted 'One China' policy in its relations with China, China has always shown goodwill towards Nepal, pointing out that the goodwill on the part of china should be utilised in favour of the country's development.

POLSAN president Tribhuvan Nath Jaiswal underlined the need for formulating a trilateral action plan involving Nepal, India and China for the development of the entire Himalayan region.

He suggested that such trilateral cooperation could be maintained in areas like water resources, tourism, security, information technology, bio-diversity conservation, etc.

From the chair, chairman and general manager of Rastriya Samachar Samiti Purushottam Dahal said that China has always wished that Nepal adopt One China policy and not allow its territory to be used against it. He pointed out that Nepal should maintain its relations with its neighbours on the basis of common interests.