Dhankuta, April 7

Around 300 foreign tourists, who came to participate in a week-long international musical programme at Tinjure Milkejaljale have been stranded in Terhathum and Dhankuta, as the local administration banned the programme. Tinjure Milkejaljale area is located on the border of Sankhuwasabha and Terhathum districts.

Tourists from Britain, the United States of America, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Korea and India are among those stranded. The tourists are staying at Dhankuta’s Hile and Terhathum’s Basantpur area as the musical event did not materialise as planned on Friday, thanks to restriction imposed by the District Administration Office, Sankhuwasabha.

Due to lack of accommodation, tourists have been housed in tents in Hile, Dhankuta. They are forced to stay hungry as the organiser has failed to provide them with food.

Shaktipik Music Festival Private Limited, Kathmandu, had organised the event. As many as 150 houses were ready to accommodate the tourists at Chauki, Mangalbare and Gufa, located on the border of Sankhuwasabha and Terhathum as per the home-stay model. The event was aimed to promote tourism in the hilly districts.

Dhankuta chapter of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chair Umesh Ghimire said it was wrong to ban the programme and leave the tourists stranded. “The government should monitor the activities of tourists. But banning the programme at the eleventh hour is not done,” Ghimire said.

Organiser Shaktipik Chair Subash KC said visitors were stranded after the DAO placed a ban on the musical festival. Seven French artistes were scheduled to perform in the musical event. “We have already spent Rs 2.5 million for programme management and for travel,” KC said, adding, “We could not organise the programme as the local administration banned the programme for no reason.”

According to KC, around 100 artistes, including DJs from 72 countries were scheduled to perform live. Tourists from 80 countries were scheduled to participate in camping, meditation and yoga.

“We had permission from the home ministry and Madi Municipality of Sankhuwasabha, where the programme venue lies. But, we are taken aback by the DAO’s decision to ban the programme,” KC complained.

It is learnt that Sankhuwasabha DAO had banned the programme suspecting unethical, obscene and unlawful activities under the cover of the programme. Sankhuwasabha CDO Ganesh Adhikari said the DAO had banned the programme to stop the activities which would not be acceptable to the Nepali society.

Dhankuta CDO Ritaram Karki said the home ministry had not permitted the organiser to conduct its programme in Pokhara and Bandipur earlier. The organiser’s claim that it had the permission to conduct the programme in Sankhuwasabha is just a rumour, according to CDO Ritaram Karki.

Meanwhile, the organiser has filed a case against Sankhuwasabha DAO and District Police Office at Biratnagar High Court’s bench in Dhankuta for leaving the tourists stranded.