SANGAM

Mustang folks out of bounds
SANGAM PRASAIN

POKHARA, AUG 27 -
Locals of Upper Mustang on Friday have threatened to bar tourists’ entry into the region from Oct. 1 as a protest against the government’s failure to distribute resources collected from the tourists.

According to locals, the Local Self Governance Act provisions that 30 percent of the revenue collected from a tourist area goes for development work of the concerned place, but Upper Mustang has not received its share for over 15 years.

As a result, the region still lacks electricity, roads, schools and hospitals. Food shortage is a perennial problem as the topography of Upper Mustang is unfavourable for crops.

The people of Upper Mustang say that the government is cheating them. “If the government had provided the fund as agreed there wouldn’t be all these problems that we’re having right now,” Raju Bista of Upper Mustang Youth Society said. “The government is simply taking from us and not giving back.” According to Annapurna Conservation Area Project, the government has collected more than Rs. 770 million in revenue through tourism from Upper Mustang, which started from 1993.

The government and the concerned ministries were informed of the people’s protest three months ago.

Rajendra Bajgain, general secretary of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), said it was not TAAN’s responsibility to negotiate with the government.

The issue is one of resource allocation and the government is fully responsible for that. The matter has been hanging fire for a long time. “This shows that the Ministry of Home Affairs is reluctant to settle the issue,” said Bajgain. He added though that the locals do not have right to bar entry into the region as such acts will affect the tourism sector ultimately.

Spokesman at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation Laxman Prasad Bhattarai said that the issue was not associated with his ministry. He added that the Home Ministry is looking after the issue.

Jay Mukunda Khanal, spokesperson at the Home Ministry said that the issue was of revenue distribution and the Ministry of Finance should take a call on it. “We will dispatch a letter in this regard to the Finance Ministry on Monday,” he said.

The picturesque, majestic windswept landscapes, flat-roofed stone houses and their inhabitants who follow Tibetan culture draw tourists from all over the world to this region. Upper Mustang, a four-day walk from district headquarters Jomsom, is a place where foreign visitors are required to pay US$ 500 per head as entry fee for 10 days.

Meanwhile, the decision taken by the Upper Mustang folk has miffed tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara who said that shutting off a popular tourist destination just ahead of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 was a bad idea.