Galchhi-Mailung road to be closed for 8 hours a day

Kathmandu, Nov. 30: The government is mulling to stop the movement of vehicles along the Galchhi-Trishuli-Rasuwagadhi highway immediately after the second phase of the elections for at least eight hours a day.

“In order to expedite the road expansion works, it’s necessary to stop vehicular movement along the 46-kilometre section of the highway from Galchhi to Mailung,” said Subodh Devkota, chief of Galchhi Trishuli Mailung Syaprubeshi Rasuwagadhi Road Project.

He said that the road would be closed for vehicles from 7 to 11 am in the morning and 1 to 5 pm in the afternoon, after it receives a nod from the District Administration Office (DAO), Nuwakot.

The project had sent a proposal to the DAO to close the road, and the office was to take a decision on it today, but as the Chief District Officer (CDO) was transferred on Wednesday, the meeting has been postponed till December 4.

According to Devkota, it is very difficult to work and use heavy equipment while vehicles are plying on the road simultaneously, so there is an urgency to halt vehicular movements for at least eight hours during the day.

The national pride project has made only 10 per cent progress since the road widening works commenced about 15 months ago.

According to the tender document published by the Department of Roads (DoR) on May 29, 2016, the construction period is of 21 months and the defect liabilities period of the contract will be five years from the issuance of the certificate.

Devkota said that the work was delayed mainly due to lack of cooperation in land acquisition by the Department of Forests and other stakeholders.

The road will be expanded to a double lane with 7-metre blacktopping and a 9-metre carriageway.

While the DoR is expanding the lanes on the Galchhi-Trishuli-Mailung road section, the Nepal Army is opening a 16-km track from Mailung to Syaphrubeshi and China is constructing a 16- km road on the Syaprubeshi-Rasuwagadhi section.

Meanwhile, the Nepal Trans-Himalayan Border Commerce Association said that the closure of the road would have serious impact on Nepal-China trade as well as on tourism.

“Due to the difficult road in the mountainous region, we are unable to import goods for winter as well as apples and raw materials to meet the market demand. At the same time, the Rasuwagadhi border point was shut for 76 hours during the first phase of the elections,” said Niraj Rai, secretary of the Association.

He said that the closure of the road during the daytime would force the containers to halt at different locations along the highway, which would raise the cost of doing business.

Currently 50 to 70 containers enter Nepal from the Rasuwagadhi border point.

After the Gorkha Earthquake 2015 devastated settlements on both sides of the Tatopani-Khasa border, China relocated the people of Khasa, and Keyrung-Rasuwagadhi has become the only point for doing business with China and for tourists to come in.

“Therefore, the government should let the containers and passenger vehicles roll on the road during the day and work at night,” said Rai.

Journalist turned goat farmer

To be an entrepreneur one needs courage, dedication, perseverance and ability to mobilize and manage the resources including labour and capital. It is also synonymous with risk. That is why, perhaps, many search for the cushion of doing jobs and earn a regular stipend rather than vying for larger amount of money that comes as a reward for bearing risks and turbulent situations. Therefore, we have more workers and fewer entrepreneurs in the society.

Rameshwor Dhital belongs to the category of daring youth who has given up a comfortable job and media glamour and opted for agro-enterprise at his own village in Nuwakot. It might be inspiring for many youths in and out of the country that Dhital left his growing career in journalism to confront new challenges in goat rearing. He was working as the Supplement Coordinator at the Arthik Abhiyan daily when he decided to leave the capital city for his village in Samundratar, Dupcheshwor Rural Municipality in Nuwakot.

Rameshwor Dhital

Dhital was enjoying a good remuneration and facilities and was doing fine with his profession. “But, I wanted to do something of my own and contribute to the development of my own locality through employment generation and economic activities. This dream motivated me to leave the capital city for my village,” he said. 

His company, Samundratar Agro-Farm, was founded about five years ago with an investment of Rs. 1 million. Now the size of investment has reached Rs. 10 million and the business is focused on goat and fruit farming. The farm is spread in 100 ropanis of land, and has one night time shed, two daytime sheds and one play area for goats. Currently, it has 125 goats – boer, jamunapari and other cross-breeds. Dhital has employed two technicians and a couple of individuals indirectly.

The days in the beginning were pretty difficult. The farm needed continuous investment, and Dhital’s experiences were inadequate for the business; he faced many challenges in the initial days. But he was not discouraged and did not lose hope and perseverance. As a result, he was able to generate income to meet the operating cost in the second year of the business and started earning profit from the third year.

But the devastating earthquake in April and May 2015 damaged all the structures built for the farm. However, various organisations supported him with goats. “Now, I supply goats to organisations such as Maiti Nepal, Good Neighbours and Laligurans Community Development Centre Rasuwa, as well as to farmers and women groups, Livelihood Programme of Citizen Awareness Centre and other farmers of various rural municipalities and municipalities in Nuwakot and Rasuwa,” he said. He sold goats worth Rs. 3 million last year.

Dhital’s goat farm is being established as the resource centre for the farmers in and around his village. He is implementing ‘Goat Mission Programme’ of District Livestock Service Office with he-goat, shed reform, medicines, machinery and tools support from the office. “I plan to establish the farm as the national goat resource centre, and run homestay service to advance agro-tourism simultaneously,” says Dhital.

He sees a tremendous potential in agriculture and animal husbandry and urges the youth to take up modern agriculture instead of leaving the country in search of jobs abroad. “We are searching for fire with the matchbox in our pocket. There are lots of possibilities in the villages. It’s much better to be your own boss rather than working as an employee in other’s companies,” he expresses his satisfaction.

There are 150 goats in his farm now. As mentioned earlier, the project has 100 ropanis of land for raising grass and grazing goats.

He has a plan to put in more investment in the project raising it to Rs. 20 million. The Project for Agriculture Commercialization and Trade (PACT) has extended an assistance of Rs. 3.5 million. Dhital had stood first in the national call of projects by the PACT. 

(Published in The Rising Nepal, on 27 October 2017)

NEA projects energy sufficiency by 2021

Kathmandu, Nov. 28: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has projected power production of about 3,309 MW by 2020/21, sufficient to meet the domestic energy demand.

Currently, the country has an installed energy capacity of 991 MW – 933.1 MW of hydroelectricity and 53.4 MW of thermal energy. But the actual production goes down to as low as one third the installed capacity during the winter months.

According to NEA’s statistics, the state-owned electricity monopoly and its subsidiary companies will produce 1010.3 MW of hydroelectricity, while independent power producers (IPPs) will add an additional 1298.7 MW of energy to the national grid in the next four years.

 “About 102 hydroelectricity projects of 2309 MW capacity are under construction. Of them Kulekhani III and Chameliya of 14 MW and 30 MW capacity respectively will start electricity generation by the end of this fiscal year,” says Managing Director of the NEA Kulman Ghishing.

The 30 MW Chameliya is set to commence generation from December.

The project is currently going through a ‘dry test’, and from December, a ‘wet test’ will begin, said Ajay Kumar Dahal, chief of the project.

The hydroelectricity project in Darchula district is jointly funded by the government and South Korea through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund.

Although the civil works of the project were supposed to have been completed by the end of the fiscal year 2016/17, the contractor, China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), had pledged to finish all works by August, six weeks beyond the deadline.

Chameliya was started in 2007 and was scheduled to be completed by 2011, but the deadline of the project was extended thrice in 2013, 2015 and 2016.  The NEA has missed about Rs. 2 billion in revenue due to the project delay.

Kulekhani III is also scheduled to be completed by January next year. The project has also been delayed by five years.

The NEA is constructing four projects - Kulekhani III, Chameliya, Trishuli 3 ‘A’ of 60 MW and Rahughat of 40 MW.

The NEA’s subsidiary companies are also developing six projects of 866.3 MW capacity, of which the Upper Tamakosi (456 MW) is the largest one, and it will start power generation from next year.

Other projects are the Tanahun, Upper Sanjen, Sanjen, Madhya Bhotekoshi and Rasuwagadhi.

The country currently has an installed capacity of 991 MW against a demand of 1500 MW.

It’s importing 380 MW electricity from India to reduce the load-shedding hours.

Ghishing said that this year the supply situation has comparatively improved because of enhanced transmission capacity, demand side management and loss reduction, import augmentation and operation management.

“In the next couple of years, power deficit is likely to be eliminated during the wet season without having to import power from India, and by 2019/20 there will be surplus in energy. But due to the seasonality of hydro power generation, there may be need of importing a small amount of electricity to meet the peak demand during dry season,” said Ghishing.

Nepal’s electricity demand is projected to grow at an average of 10 per cent per annum.

Senior leaders cast their votes

Kathmandu, Nov. 26: Senior political leaders contesting the elections to the House of Representatives cast their votes in the first phase elections held on Sunday from various polling stations in their respective constituencies.

Former Prime Minister and Coordinator of the Naya Shakti Party Nepal Dr. Baburam Bhattarai cast his vote at 8:30 am from the Annapurna Secondary School polling station in Palungtar Municipality - 1 of Gorkha district while his rival former Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha cast vote at 7:25 am from the Adarsha Secondary School polling station in Siranchok Rural Municipality - 8 of Gorkha.

Both the leaders, who were together in the CPN (Maoist Centre) as deputy chairmen of the party until 2015, are contesting the elections to the House of Representatives from Gorkha constituency 2.

Dr Bhattarai, who quit the left alliance after he was denied election ticket from Gorkha-2, is backed by the NC while Shrestha is a common candidate of the left alliance.

Likewise, former speaker Onsari Gharti Magar and former Finance Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) leader Barsha Man Pun cast their votes at 7:20 am from Madicharu polling station in Rolpa Municipality – 7 of Rolpa district.

Similarly, chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Democratic) Pashupati Shumsher Rana cast his vote from Banskharka polling station in Panchpokhari Rural Municipality of Sindhupalchok district. He is contesting the election to the House of Representatives from Sindhupalchowk constituency – 2 as a common candidate of the democratic alliance.  

Similarly, CPN (Maoist Centre) leader Agni Sapkota cast his vote at his own village, Kubinde, and Minister for Information and Communications and NC leader Mohan Bahadur Basnet cast his vote in Barhabise of Sindhupalchok.

Meanwhile, Nirmala Phunyal, 23, of Tamakoshi Rural Municipality in Dolakha district died of heart attack while standing in a queue to exercise her franchise.

Mixed tourism strategy is good for Nepal

Deepak Raj Joshi

Chief Executive Officer, 

Nepal Tourism Board

Nepal's tourism sector is severely marred by lack of infrastructure and proper promotion of tourism products. Despite having world class tourist attractions like Lumbini, Mt. Everest, eight peaks measuring above 8,000 metres, rich flora and fauna, and natural as well as cultural attractions, Nepal's efforts at welcoming a million tourists has not materialised for the last two decades since it celebrated 'Visit Nepal Year 1998'. 

The country witnessed record tourist arrivals last year after 2012, and hopes are high that the number will reach a million this year. Modnath Dhakal of The Rising Nepal talked to Deepak Raj Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), responsible for promoting Nepal's tourism destinations both in the domestic and international markets, about the prospects of tourism, challenges, revival of the tourism sector after the earthquake and promoting new destinations. Excerpts: 

Nepal Tourism Board recently finalised its budget for the current fiscal year. For the past many years, the budget has included traditional programmes and projects. Have you made it different this year? 

I agree that in the past we used to implement traditional programmes, such as participating in travel and trade fairs, organising sales missions and fam-trips. But we’ve changed the direction since last year. The board organised the largest ever mass media campaign, allocated separate budget for a social media campaign that included Facebook ad to reach the Nepali diaspora. We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), and with the support of the NRA, public relations representatives and Nepali missions abroad, Visit Nepal Europe Year 2017 was promoted. Although it was a general promotion strategy, it has been very effective. Most of the Nepalis in Europe supported the campaign. In addition to it, we educated the tour operators on how to sell Nepal, organised Webinar and many orientation programmes. 

After the record tourist arrival in 2012, Nepal is hoping to bring in about a million tourists this year. What is contributing to this soaring number of tourists? 

We are confident that the target of a million tourists will be met this year. There have been rigorous efforts on the part of the NTB, government and private sector. We launched a media campaign through BBC, Trip Advisor and other international media outlets.  Rs. 60 million and Rs. 25 million were spent on the BBC and TripAdvisor. We are working in close collaboration with the private sector business associations, such as Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), National Association of Travel and Tour Agents (NATTA) and (Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN). Capacity building programmes for the private sector entrepreneurs were organised in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan.

Another major contribution to the growing number of tourists was made by the Gorkha Earthquake 2015 because it brought Nepal at the forefront of the international community. Nepal was portrayed by the international media as a beautiful country devastated by the quake. At the same time, we were successful in informing the world that the quake had affected only a small part of the country and the rest of the country was fine to visit and also observe the reconstruction of the world-famous monuments, many of which are listed in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

There have been changes in the promotional strategies, too. For long, Nepal's main focus was India and China, but now we have reached out to Europe, especially Eastern Europe and Russia, the United States, Indonesia and Vietnam. As a result, the US is becoming the third largest market for us while Nepal has become the choice for the youths in Malaysia, Indonesia and other East Asian countries that seek soft adventure. 

The government and the private sector consider tourism as the major vehicle for economic growth. But this sector is marred by lack of proper infrastructure and other facilities. What should Nepal do in this regard? 

The major bottleneck in Nepali tourism is the lack of basic infrastructure. I think we need to attract more Foreign Direct Investment in this sector. We are not poor in the service sector, we have strength in terms of products, too. Therefore, we need to develop basic infrastructure and communicate differently. Tourists always seek new tastes and benefits during their visit. It is a very positive sign that despite stagnant growth in infrastructure, the number of tourists visiting Nepal is very encouraging. I am hopeful that political stability will address such challenges. 

Nepali tourism is primarily limited to the Kathmandu-Pokhara-Chitwan triangle. What has the Nepal Tourism Board done to promote other attractive destinations, especially in the east and west? 

Tourism is a sector which should be led by the private sector not by the government. Similarly, you can't force a tourist to visit certain places in the country. Many beautiful locations in the east and west lack accessibility, basic amenities and infrastructure. We are trying to convince the tourism entrepreneurs in the west that their market lies in the nearby Indian cities and the Indian capital, New Delhi, so they should be marketing there. We tried to organise a meeting of Nepali and Indian businesses, highlight Nepal's products in India and train Nepali entrepreneurs. Similarly, we are creating a link with Bihar's market. The most important fact is that domestic tourism has high potential. Ghumfir Year 2073 was a success. Many Nepalis reached new destinations across the country. Businessmen are investing Rs. 100 to 200 million in hotels and resorts from Surkhet to Jumla.

 How has the tourism sector revived after the devastating Gorkha Earthquake 2015? 

A committee was formed that included representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Tourism Department, NTB and the private sector. The private sector had lost its confidence and was afraid that the sector would not revive for the next five years. We sought technical support from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), and it developed a manual with the slogan 'Nepal back on top of the world'. We launched a new campaign 'Nepal Now'. We were successful in conveying the message that only 10-12 districts around the Kathmandu Valley were affected by the quake. We highlighted user generated content of the tourists, collaborated with the NRA, didn't lower the charges for the tourists and launched a mass media campaign. Nepal is a success story that achieved one of the quickest recoveries in the tourism sector. 

China is becoming a major tourist source country globally. What should Nepal do to attract more Chinese tourists? 

Our highest growing market is China. A new strategy has been developed to attract more Chinese tourists. As per the strategy, Nepal waived off the visa fee and provided visa on arrival, and opened new visa offices in major Chinese cities. But aviation is a challenge with the high fares. Many tourists come to Nepal via the land route. The Himalayan highway itself is a tourism product. Cooperation with the Chinese tour operators, mass media promotions and outdoor promotions in Chinese cities are going on. About 70 journalists from the Chinese media had visited Nepal and generated positive media contents on Nepal's tourism industry. 

Nepal's efforts to promote MICE tourism miserably failed. Whom should we blame?

Lack of infrastructure is the main cause. We don't have an international standard convention centre. However, we are trying to promote incentive and meeting tourism. If a group of 1,000 people comes to Kathmandu for a convention, there is neither a venue nor hotel rooms.

Though Nepal has world-class tourism products, it couldn't promote them in the global market. You said that the NTB is adopting new approaches to promote Nepal's tourism. But what is the NTB doing to attract high-end tourists? 

Kathmandu, Pokhara and the Everest Region have facilities and amenities for high-end tourists. But we shouldn't forget that Nepal is the choice of backpackers who come here to have lifelong experiences. Yes, it is the area that we should be focusing on as it contributes to higher revenue.

Have there been any efforts at training and providing orientation to the tourism entrepreneurs, hoteliers and other stakeholders along the trekking routes, such as the Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camp trekking route? 

Service quality in the tourism sector should be enhanced. The NTB recently realised the fact that tourism entrepreneurs needed to be trained on delivering quality tourism and hospitality services, such as hygiene. Similarly, businesses must increase their digital presence because most of the tourists go online to search for services and facilities. The board will soon organise a training for entrepreneurs in the new tourist destinations on increasing their digital presence. They should be found while searching online. 

Shouldn't Nepal also implement the per day expenditure ceiling for tourists as in Bhutan?

Nepal is a different market. I think it is not possible to implement such a measure here. We have adopted a liberal economic policy unlike Bhutan's controlled governance. We also have products like Lomanthang and Upper Dolpa, where tourists have to pay US$ 500 to visit and follow a certain code of conduct. You can even visit a European country for about $1500. Therefore, a mixed tourism strategy is fine with Nepal. 

The government was preparing to celebrate 2018 as Visit Nepal Year but has been postponed till 2020, why? 

It was because of political reasons. We are just having the elections for the federal and provincial parliament. It may take about a year for the new federal set-up to come into effect. Similarly, we can't develop infrastructure in a couple of months. Expansion of the Tribhuvan International Airport and Bhairahawa Airport and upgrading the major highways will be completed by 2020. 

(Published in The Rising Nepal, 27 November 2017.)