MUSTANG: A popular tourist destination of the nation, Mustang district, these days has worn a deserted look after the number of tourists visiting the district has diminished.

Yearly, more than 400,000 people used to throng the district for trekking around the Annapurna region and homage to the Muktinath Temple.

However, this year, the destructive April 25 earthquake and the ongoing strike in Tarai region caused the decrease of tourists in the area, informed Bidur Bikram Kuinkel, an officer at the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) of Jomsom.

A hotelier laxmi Tulachan informed that in past it was difficult for the tourists to get the shelter, while they need to look at the way waiting to see tourists now.

Like Tulachan, most of the hotel businesses in the district are in poor condition.

The development of motorable route has also decreased the stay of tourists in the district, of late.