Bhairahawa, October 11

Siddhartha Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rupandehi, has started preparations for organising the seventh Lumbini National Festival.

The SCCI informed through a press meet organised in Bhairahawa today that the festival was scheduled to be held from December 6 to 16 at Anchalpur-based Palting Land in Bhairahawa.

Festival Coordinator and chair of SCCI Kul Prasad Neupane said, “The foundation of national prosperity is the development of tourism, agriculture and industry,” adding, “The festival this year will be more attractive and special in comparison to past festivals.”  The SCCI has been celebrating the festival in the area every two years since 2004.

In the festival, domestic products will have a separate pavilion. The major attractions of the festival include child park, boxing and volleyball competition, cultural programme, fish zone, stalls showcasing various products, among others. The organisers informed that 250 stalls would be kept in the festival. The organiser expects around three lakh visitors to observe the festival and more than eight crore rupees in financial transactions to be held. The organiser further added that around 75 lakh rupees to one crore budget would have to be invested to organise the festival.

Federation of Nepal Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Kathmandu, is the organiser while Trade and Export Promotion Centre, Siddharthanagar Municipality and Lumbini Development Trust are co-organisers of the festival. Similarly, Nepal Tourism Board and Agriculture Entrepreneurs Promotion Programme are the sponsors of the festival.