Indian Minister Khattar's visit to Muktinath encourages locals

BY HARI KRISHNA SHARMA,Muktinath, Apr. 25: Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Deepak Khadka and Indian Minister for Power, Communications and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar visited and performed worship at the Muktinath Temple, a sacred Hindu pilgrimage site located in Ward No. 1 of Varagung Muktikshetra Rural Municipality, Mustang on Wednesday.

Minister Khattar was on a two-day visit to Nepal on Tuesday and Wednesday at the invitation of Minister Khadka.

A 16-member delegation, including India's Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, also visited the temple. 

After visiting the temple area, the delegation received ‘tika’ and ‘prasad’ from priest Krishna Prasad Subedi and then returned to Jomsom, informed Chief District Officer Bishnu Prasad Bhusal. He said, “Other than the temple visit, there was no scheduled event, and they have returned.”

Varagung Muktikshetra Rural Municipality-4 Ward Chairman Karma Gyatso Gurung said that Minister Khadka, his Indian counterpart Khattar and Hitendra Dev Shakya, Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, along with other members of the team, were welcomed by local representatives, security personnel and locals. He said that visits by high-ranking Indian officials have been contributing to the growth of the tourism industry.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Muktinath Temple on May 12, 2018, during his trip to Nepal. Since then, Indian central and state ministers and other high-ranking officials have been visiting Muktinath, leading to a noticeable increase in the number of Indian religious tourists in recent times.

According to the ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Project) office in Jomsom, around 40,000 Indian pilgrims have visited Muktinath Temple since the beginning of the current fiscal year 2024/25. In the previous fiscal year, 96,050 Indians visited Muktinath, out of the total visitors from 114 countries. After Nepalis, Indian pilgrims are the most frequent visitors to the temple.

To cater to Indian pilgrims, the Indian Embassy had constructed a ‘dharamshala’ (pilgrims' rest house) near the Ranipauwa bus park in Varagung Muktikshetra–1 at Rs. 25.2 million in 2013. However, the facility with nearly two dozen rooms remains unused.