Kathmandu, March 20:

Just when the tourism sector was looking up, having registered a 62 per cent growth in February, the decision for a nationwide closure of all industries including hotels, travel, banks, airlines, transport and cargo among others, is set to bring the country to a grinding halt.

Almost all the major industry and trade organisations have joined an indefinite strike, following the prime minister’s refusal to meet and address their grievances on Monday.

Leading members of the private sector were meeting on Tuesday evening to decide upon a future course of action, including a belated invitation from the prime minister to hear their problems, informed reliable sources.

The hotel industry has announced its decision to come up with what it calls ‘zero occupancy’ from Monday. Individual hotels have been asked to inform their guests and tourists to vacate hotels within the next six days.

“This was indeed a very difficult decision for the hotel industry, particularly at a time when the season has just begun for us,” said the president of Hotel Association of Nepal, Prakash Shrestha.

“But we are sick and tired of this continuing atmosphere of intimidation and extortion. Besides, there has been no political commitment towards addressing this problem.” However, if things are resolved within the next few days, the decision to get the hotels vacated will obviously be withdrawn, he added.

Meanwhile, commercial banks closed down operations from today, most of them shutting down even their ATM facilities. While the Banking Association of Nepal decided to join the striking entrepreneurs on Monday evening itself, the decision to close down all operations became effective only from Tuesday, said a senior official of a commercial bank, on the condition of anonymity.

All movement of cargo for either export or import at the airport also came to a standstill from today. Even couriers were stopped as the president of the Freight Forward Association, Namgayal Lama claimed, “All operations have been suspended for an indefinite period from today. Not a single document will go out or come in to the country until the issue is resolved.”

While the Domestic Airlines Association expressed solidarity with agitating entrepreneurs and participated in the rally during the day, they have decided to close down operations only for a day on March 22.

Interestingly, businessmen have resorted to the same tool that they had been criticising all the while. “We were left with no other alternative. We had to stop this slow poisoning by intimidation and extortions that all of us had been suffering individually. So, we decided to take on the problem head on once and for all,” maintained HAN’s Shrestha.

The three point demand by the agitating entrepreneurs include safety and security, an assurance for a conducive environment to conduct business from the government and return of all the confiscated property by the Maoists, pointed out Nepal Association for Tour Operators (NATO) chairman, Basant Mishra.