SOLUKHUMBU, SEPTEMBER 12

Lukla Bazaar, the main gateway to Sagarmatha, has seen its first-ever market inspection, on Friday. The inspection included hotels, eateries, bakeries, cafes, grocery stores, and trekking houses located in Lukla Bazaar of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality-2 in Solukhumbu district, according to Sujan Kumari Bardeva, Chief of Solu Khumbu Border Administration Office.

Visitors to Lukla enter the bustling market immediately after landing at Lukla Airport via domestic flights. It is the gateway to various popular destinations such as Khumbu, Tengboche, Gokyo Lake, Kala Patthar, Everest Base Camp, and Sagarmatha Base Camp. Lukla experiences two tourist peaks during the year, in the months of Falgun to Baisakh and Bhadra to Ashwin.

'Before this, there had never been any formal inspections conducted in the market,' said local hotelier and operator of North Face Resort Lukla, Ang Dawa Sherpa, while expressing his satisfaction with this inaugural inspection.

The market monitoring of the Lukla Bazaar was led by Sujan Kumari Bardeva, Chief of Solu Khumbu Border Administration Office, with participation from various government agencies, local authorities, and community organizations, including the District Administration Office, Namche, Area Police Office, Namche, Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, Village Development Organization, Women's Committee, Taxpayer Service Office Lukla, and other civic leaders. The inspection team assessed 31 hotels and 29 food businesses.

The inspection covered aspects such as hygiene at hotels and restaurants, their capacity, the number of employees, and tourist records. It also looked into issues such as renewal of business registration, price list, sale and distribution of non-food items, installation of CCTV cameras, the employment of underage children as workers in hotels. In the course of the inspection, expired food items worth Rs 688,135 were identified and destroyed.

Local business owners and traders are delighted with this first inspection in Lukla Bazaar, which they say has not happened in the last 20 years. As part of the inspection process, traders will now be required to register their businesses, maintain price lists, and ensure the regular disposal of expired items. Local residents emphasize the importance of regular inspections as Lukla Bazaar continues to draw tourists from around the world.