Madhes govt working to form tourism board

By Binaya Karna,Kalyanpur (Saptari), May 2: Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism of Madhes Provincial government Sakil Ali Miya has said that the Madhes government will form a tourism board by introducing 

regulations related to tourism at the earliest.

He said that as a Tourism Act has been enacted for the promotion and development of tourism in Madhes Province, the government would soon introduce regulations and form a tourism board.

He made this remark at an interaction organised between the local government, Madhes Provincial government, tourism entrepreneurs and stakeholders by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and the Federation of Nepal Hotel and Tourism Entrepreneurs, Madhes Province in Rajbiraj, Saptari, on Thursday.

Minister Miya said that the government was working to develop tourism in all eight districts of Madhes Province.

“The Tourism Act has been enacted, now the regulations will be endorsed soon, and a tourism board will be formed,” he said.

The Madhes government has allocated a budget in the past for the conservation and promotion of sites of historical and religious importance for tourism development in all eight districts, he said and expressed his commitment to allocating a budget in the coming fiscal year as well.

Stating that tourism development is not possible through the government's efforts alone, he urged the private sector stakeholders to pay attention to publicity to develop tourism in Saptari.

Hiralal Gautam, President of the Federation of Nepal Hotel and Tourism Entrepreneurs', Madhes Province, said that Saptari has become the sixth district to take on this programme, which was started from Bara to promote and publicise tourism.

Stating that such a programme is yet to be held in only two districts, he said that he was going to visit Chhinnamasta Rural Municipality in Saptari, Hanuman Temple in Hanumannagar, Vishnu Temple in Kanchanrup, and Lohajara Pond in Tirahut Rural Municipality along with a team of stakeholders for publicity.

Chief District Officer of Saptari Bhola Dahal urged hoteliers to promote local cuisines rather than foreign cuisines as they play an important role in tourism promotion. 

“There are many tourist areas in Saptari, but they are being overlooked due to a lack of promotion,” he said.

On the occasion, Chief of District Coordination Committee, Saptari Shiva Narayan Sah, Chairman of Rupani Rural Municipality Dinesh Kumar Yadav, Chairman of Chinnamasta Rural Municipality Bidyananda Chaudhary, former Irrigation Minister Umesh Kumar Yadav, and former mayor of Rajbiraj Municipality Shailesh Chaudhary emphasised the need to create a package of places of historical and religious importance in Saptari and promote them.