POKHARA: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari has said that archives must be made a centre of study and research to thereby promote tourism.

Inaugurating a three-day archive festival organised here by National Archives, on Friday, Minister Adhikari said Pokhara Regional Museum needed to be developed as the provincial archives to document traditional manuscripts of the region.

Chief of National Archives Saubhagya Pradhananga said, some 200,000 micro-film copies of documents including the original copies of 30,000 manuscripts have been secured. "By this year, some 600,000 digital documents will be secured," he further said.

Some 85 manuscripts secured by the National Archives are on display at the festival taking place in the premises of Nepal Tourism Board.

An exhibition of photos and books is also underway.