By Our Correspondent, Salyan, Apr. 24: Every year, millions of rupees are poured into the district’s five tourist destinations without any vision or a master plan. The local authorities are reportedly on a spending spree, allocating funds haphazardly without accountability or thought.

Although master plans are yet to be devised for the five destinations, Khairabang, Chandani Sattale Cave, Chayachetra, Laxmipu and Kupinde Lake, money is being carelessly pumped as a desperate attempt to boost tourism.

Rs. 68.1 million has been allocated this year for the conservation of Kupinde Lake, which is enlisted among the top 100 priority destinations by the government.

The work is being jointly regulated by the Tourism Ministry and Bangad Kupinde Municipality for the improvement of roads up to the lake, installation of well-serviced toilets, construction of parking lots, and temples. While more than Rs. 40 million has already been spent on the lake’s conservation in the last 15 years, the change is barely even noticeable.

“Over the years, a number of investments have been made for the development of the lake but to no avail. This is because there isn’t a concrete plan to guide expenditure,” said Kul Bahadur Puri, Ward No. 8 resident of the Municipality.

While the municipal office had pledged to prepare a detailed project report for infrastructural development within the lake area, it hasn’t yet come to fruition. Gobinda Kumar Pun, the chairperson of the Municipality, said, “We have to consult all the stakeholders before formulating plans, as a result of which there has been a delay.”

Similarly, over Rs. 40 million has been spent on Khairabang Temple, another famous site of the district. Likewise, conservation at Chandni Sattale Cave has incurred a total cost of Rs. 12 million in the last five years.

“The government has been allocating funds without any technical survey, and work is moving along without respecting the standards because there isn’t a master plan in place to guide these things,” explained Yam Bahadur Pun, Chairperson of the Cave Conservation Committee.

Echoing Pun’s sentiments, Ramesh Giri, Chief of the Division Forest Office, said that development activities in touristic sites need to be carried out only after detailed study and a master plan.