POKHARA, August 8

Even as the media, domestic and international alike, are abuzz with predictions of a mega-quake in western Nepal in the near future, tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara have become an unsettled lot.

Regarding the forecast, Western Hotel Association, Pokhara, issued a statement on Saturday and expressed serious concerns about the impact of such ‘baseless rumours’ on the tourism sector that was just regaining momentum after the devastating April 25 earthquake.

Further, the statement has sought seriousness on the part of the national media, saying, “At a time when the country is struggling to recover from the trauma of the massive earthquake, the media should use its discretion before publishing anything that causes panic.”

They ask how reasonable it is of the media fraternity to carry such news and scare people

How reasonable is it for the media fraternity to carry such news and scare people just by citing something that cannot be stopped, about which we cannot be sure and that which is hypothetical? The statement pointed out.

Recently, Nature Geo-science and Science magazines had published research papers, pointing out the possibility of a bigger earthquake in the western part of the country in the near future.

The reports have cited nearly 500 years of seismic gap in the western part of Nepal.

They have stated that parts of Nepal and India could be struck by a powerful quake at any time in the future.