TIC building gathers dust

Bhojpur, May 24

A tourism information centre building in Bhojpur, built  around six years ago with an aim to promote tourism in eastern Nepal, is losing its shape well before being put to use, thanks to negligence on part of the authorities concerned.

The facility based in Taksar of Bhojpur Municipality was constructed as per the decision of Nepal Tourism Board at the cost of over 5 million rupees, and labour donation by the locals, only to be forsaken.

The District Coordination Committee blamed the higher authority for the sorry state of the building. “We’ve frequently sought the attention of the concerned ministry regarding the facility. But it did not bother to transfer its ownership to the local level,” said Building Construction Committee Chairperson Dhirendra Shrestha.

A local, Omkardhwaj Karki also expressed his concerns over the indifference of the concerned authorities. “Operation of the information centre building could be a major fillip for tourism here, which would improve the living standard of the locals,” he said.

Bhojpur Municipality Ward Chair Kumar Prasad Shrestha pledged his initiative to put the building to some use within the present fiscal itself.

The facility is about 1.5 km from Bhojpur Airport and offers a beautiful view of nature and other man-made landmarks of Bhojpur.