Himalayan News Service

Pokhara, February 9:

Internet service resumed in Pokhara from today, while the telephone service resumed last evening. The said services had been suspended around eight days ago immediately after the royal proclamation.

The cyber cafés were not crowded in the earlier half of the day. Perhaps many of the Pokharelis were not aware of the resumption of Internet services or were too busy attending the ongoing Trade Fair, said some café owners.

However, it was an altogether different scene come evening with the lakeside cafés being crowded with the town’s young folk.

Not only the local youth, tourists also swarmed to these places to get in touch with their families and friends.

Nepal Telecom Pokhara chief Amarnath Jha said that after Kathmandu, Pokhara was perhaps the most-affected by the suspension of telephone and Internet services. He said the people have become so dependent on the Internet that it is the chief form of communication and many even avail of the service to check their bank accounts.

There are around 100 cyber cafés in the town area alone, mostly at Mahendrapool, Lakeside, Prithivichowk and Chipledhunga.

The Internet charges at the lakeside cafés are Rs 2 for per minute and Rs 99 per hour, whereas cafés in other areas of Pokhara charge Rs 20-30 per hour.

Around Rs 40 million has been invested in this business here, and it earns a revenue of around Rs 35 million every year, according to Union of Nepal Computer Institute for Quality Education.