Chitwan, November 5

Hotel business of Sauraha, Chitwan, has been worst-hit by the recent agitation in the plains, as most of the hotels are on the verge of closure due to low number of visitors and the crippling fuel crisis persisting since long.

Sauraha is famous for its hotels and their quality services among the tourists visiting the Chitwan National Park. However, hotel entrepreneurs here bemoan the huge setback it has faced this year.

“The sector was just recovering from the effects of the devastating earthquakes in April and May, when it received another huge blow due to the inopportune bandhs and strikes and the consequent crippling fuel crisis,” said Suman Ghimire, vice-chairperson of the Regional Hotel Association in Sauraha. “Except for the increase in the number of domestic tourists this year, the overall scenario is quite depressing.”

“On the one hand there is a decrease in the overall number of tourists and on the other it’s very hard for us to keep operating in the face of the fuel crisis,” Ghimire said.

As per data provided by Chitwan National Park Assistant Conservation Officer Tikaram Poudel, a depressing number of 9,375 visitors visited the national park in the first three months of this fiscal compared with 48,347 persons in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

There are a number of hotels in Sauraha, with altogether 1,500 rooms available to accommodate tourists in the area. Moreover, hotels also operate in Patihani, Jagatpur and Meghauli targeting the tourists.