Madan Wagle

Tanahun, March 25:

Overcrowded with Indian ex-Gorkha servicemen, prospective teachers seeking permit for teaching and SLC students, hotels and lodges in Damauli are having a difficult time in coping with the large number of guests that are flocking there currently. Hotel entrepreneurs, who were thinking of moving always from their business, are more than happy now. They are being forced to accommodate guests at more than their capacity. Owner of the Kihun Gajarkot hotel in Damauli, Devi Ranabhat, said, “I am allowing 40 people to stay in a place which that was meant just to accommodate 20 persons.” She said she is delighted to have so many guests at her hotel, which usually faces a slack business due to bandhs and blockades.

Similarly, Santosh Shrestha, another hotel owner said, “My hotel has been completely occupied.” His hotel, which has 60 beds only, is accommodating guest even in his kitchen room, he said. “My current income is between Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 on a single day,” Shrestha informed.

Pension distribution to Indian ex-Gorkha servicemen from Tanahun, Lamjung, Gorkha and Manang starts from March 19. Khadak Bahadur Gurung, an Indian ex-Gorkha serviceman from Lamjung district’s Maling VDC-9, said that he used to receive his pension at Bensisahar. But this time, he has to come to Damauli for which he has to spend much more. Gurung said he came in a group, which consisted of 13 people from his village. Similar is the situation for Kul Bahadur Shrestha, also from Lamjung, who has come with 14 others to receive their pensions. “The job used to be done in a single day in Lamjung. This time, it is going to take three days,” he said. President of hotel entrepreneurs’ association Tanahun, Raj Kumar Shresha, said, “The month of March has proved very fruitful for hoteliers here. More clients means more income.” Hotels in the district headquarter of Damauli are doing business worth hundreds of thousands of rupees in a single day, hoteliers said.

Major Milan Mathur in the Indian pension distribution camp Pokhara, said ex-servicemen from these four districts will be issued pensions worth Rs 120 million. According to him, this time they will receive pension for six months. The Indian Embassy has been distributing pensions twice a year. He said this time the pension camp, in view of the security situation, came to stay in Damauli, which is an ideal place for pensioners from the four districts to converge to. The pension distribution will continue till March 26, he informed.