Cycling to promote tourist, religious sites

By Our Correspondent,Banke, Feb. 12: Cycling tour ‘Tour de Thakurdwara’ has started from Thursday, aiming to promote Banke and Bardiya district’s tourist and religious sites.  

The cycling tour started from Bageshwori temple of Nepalgunj. World Famous cyclist Pushkar Shah, Lumbini province parliament member Ratna Khatri and other cyclists were among the participants of the tour. There are 29 Indian participants in the cycling tour, said the organiser, Satish Niraula, president of Nepalgunj cycling club.

Cyclists from Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Syangja, Jhapa, Makwanpur and other cities of Nepal are participating. The cycling tour officially started after Nepali flag was handover by the House of Representative’s member Dr. Dhawal Shumsher to World Cyclist Pushkar Shah and the tour flag by Prashant Bishta, Chief of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan Municipality to the organiser Niraula.

"More than 150 cyclists from outside Banke have participated in the cycling tour," said Niraula. "We believe this will aid in promoting tourism in Banke and Bardiya."

The tour, started in the morning from Bageshwori temple, will reach Khajura, Bardiya’s Badhaiyataal Rural Municipality, Bansgadhi Rural Municipality, Satkhuluwa lake of Barbadiya Rural Municipality, Babai River and finally Thakurdwara via Bhurigaon. The cycle journey will be of about one hundred kilometers through all the religious and tourist sites through Nepalgunj to Thakurdwara and will officially end on Saturday. Earlier on Thursday, there was a children’s bicycle race at the water park in Nepalgunj, which is considered a tourist spot. There were 55 participants in the first cycling tour, said the organiser Nepalgunj Cycling Club, while in the 5th edition of cycling tour held this time, there are 300 cyclists including 29 Indian participants.