POKHARA, Aug 7: Locals and tourism entrepreneurs of Baidam on Friday shut down Lakeside area to protest against the new construction requirements, which prohibits the construction of houses within 65 meters from the edge of Fewa Lake. All hotels, restaurants and shops were shut, while vehicles remained off the roads. [break]
The Pokhara Sub-metropolis with a view to stop encroachment of the lake has ordered to demolish houses which lie within a distance of 65 meters from the lake. The strike that lasted for 12 hours, starting at 6 am, caused a inconveniences to commuters. Many tourists panicked and left without eating their food when locals came to close the restaurants in the area. Tourists who had arrived from Kathmandu, Chitwan, and Sunauli on Friday were compelled to walk three to four kilometers to get to their hotels.
Pokhara has 421 tourist standard hotels and 70 restaurants. According to Pokhara Tourism Council, the hotels and restaurants with an estimated investment of over Rs 36 million have employed over 4000 people.
Western Region Hotel Entrepreneurs Association claimed that they were not informed in advance and defied the strike. Govinda Pahari, the president of the association, said that he had not received any official information regarding the strike.
Bachchuram Tiwari, president of the Pokhara Tourism Council, said that Baidam residents and hotel employees were sending a wrong message by calling for the strike and that it should be withdrawn immediately. “Closure of hotels and restaurants for a single day costs hundreds of thousands in revenue. Moreover, it sends a wrong message to visiting tourists.”
The locals also staged demonstrations in front of the District Administration Office and District Development Committee for two hours in the morning. “The new rule requires more than 250 houses to be demolished,” Dipendra Bir Kunwar, the chairman of struggle committee, said. “We will be rendered homeless if we are not compensated. We will continue our protests till our demands are met.”
Related story
Want to party till dawn? Lakeside is the place!
