Nepal in Nat Geo’s Cool List amid tourism gloom

Dec 9, 2015- A drop in hotel bookings, empty airplane seats and fewer trekkers are what Nepal has experienced since the April 25 earthquake and subsequent trade embargo by India that has led to massive losses in the tourism industry this year.

But there is some good news too. Nepal has been included in National Geographic Traveller magazine’s Cool List for 2016. The UK-based popular travel publication has placed Nepal in the sixth spot among 16 cool locations to visit next year.

“Tourist numbers to Nepal plummeted by 85 percent after the devastating earthquakes, but the country is once more open for business and safe to visit, with a new government-backed website providing official updates on affected areas,” said National Geographic Traveller magazine.

“This is a nation that has long relied heavily on tourism, with many visitors lured by the chance to combine volunteerism with an adventure holiday in a stunning landscape.”

Ashok Pokhrel, president of the Nepal Association of Tour Operators, said that National Geographic Traveller magazine was highly popular among adventure travellers, and that the 16 must-see destinations for next year would help motivate them to travel to Nepal.

“Besides, the government should also promote Nepal more aggressively, and a large budget should be set aside for marketing for next year once the political tensions are settled,” he said. The government should lead the industry at this time as the private sector that is on the verge of bankruptcy is not in a position to promote Nepal, he added.

Tourist arrivals plunged 46 percent in the first 10 months as a series of disasters pounded Nepal’s tourism sector, a government report said.

According to a report prepared by the Tourism Ministry, Nepal lost 352,330 arrivals during the review period, hitting foreign exchange earnings and jobs in the industry. The country received 300,325 foreign visitors by air until October, down from 652,655 in the same period last year.

Bad times started for Nepal tourism with the accident of a Turkish Airlines jet at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport in March that led hundreds of potential visitors to cancel their trips.

The next month, the country was struck by a killer quake which destroyed tourism infrastructure, heritage sites and trekking trails. The dreadful event on April 25 set off a mass departure of tourists and a flurry of booking cancellations.

Just as tourism was beginning to recover from the effects of the deadly tremor, a political problems following the promulgation of a much-delayed constitution resulted in a fuel crisis which dealt another blow to the tottering industry. The current scenario is even worse. The trade embargo and resultant fuel shortage has forced hotels and restaurants to shut down, cut down job numbers and reduced the tourist length of stay to all-time lows.  The ministry said that tourists were currently staying for less than six days in Nepal. Last year, the average length of stay was 12.44 days. The average occupancy of hotels plunged below 20 percent in October following the Tarai unrest and fuel crisis. A number of hotels have closed down and others have laid off their workers.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

ADB to give $15m for quake victims

Dec 9, 2015- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide $15 million (equivalent to Rs1.57 billion) as a grant under the window of the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) to help restore disrupted livelihoods and schooling in poor and severely earthquake-affected communities.

The JFPR is a fund set up by the government of Japan and managed by the ADB. The assistance will be mobilized under the Disaster Risk Reduction and Livelihood Restoration for Earthquake Affected Communities Project, which also aims to strengthen their resilience against future disasters.

Finance Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi and ADB Country Director for Nepal Kenichi Yokoyama signed the grant agreement on Tuesday at the Finance Ministry on behalf of their respective sides.

Source: Sabkura news Pvt. Ltd.

Sri Lanka rocked by drug shock

Wicketkeeper Kusal Perera’s shock suspension after failing a drugs test has left Sri Lanka reeling ahead of the two-Test series against New Zealand starting in Dunedin on Thursday.

After Dhammika Prasad’s series-ending back injury, it was the second damaging blow for Angelo Mathews’ new-look side in what was always going to be an uphill battle in testing New Zealand conditions. Perera, 25, one of Sri Lanka’s new brigade following the retirements of several stars including Kumar Sangakkara, was sent home on Monday after returning a positive result to a banned steroid from a random test during their recent series against Pakistan.

He is the second Sri Lankan international to fail a dope test following batsman Upul Tharanga’s suspension for three months after testing positive during the 2011 World Cup. The loss of the three-Test keeper follows the back injury suffered by leading fast bowler Prasad in a warm-up match against a modest New Zealand Board President’s XI.

It was not the hit-out the tourists were hoping for with Dimuth Karunaratne’s 93 in the first innings, backed by 63 from Udara Jayasundara and 61 from Kithuruwan Vithanage in the second, the only scores of note. The Sri Lankan batsmen can expect no mercy when the first Test starts at Dunedin’s University Oval on Thursday with New Zealand coach Mike Hesson ordering green, seaming pitches to suit his pace attack.

New Zealand are at their best playing at home, which Sri Lanka learned the hard way 12 months ago when bowling spearheads Tim Southee and Trent Boult took 22 wickets between them as the Black Caps completed a 2-0 series whitewash. Mathews’ side return a year later, still in a rebuilding phase, to face a settled New Zealand line-up looking for a confidence boost after losing their recent away series defeat to Australia.

The Brendon McCullum-led New Zealanders are brimming with confidence in home conditions where they have not lost a Test nor a series since going down 0-1 when South Africa visited in 2011-12. They are also a team that played better than the 0-2 scoreline in Australia last month would indicate. “We are back in conditions we are familiar with and grounds we are familiar with and hopefully we can show the high standards we have shown over the last couple of years,” said Southee Tuesday. “It’s typical Dunedin weather. We find it cold so I’m sure the Sri Lankans will find it even worse.”

In Australia, only opener Martin Guptill and off-spinner Mark Craig failed to shine but Hesson is prepared to keep faith with the out-of-form pair. “Mark and Martin didn’t perform to the level they would have liked over in Australia, but both have shown in the past what they’re capable of and we’re confident they’ll make valuable contributions in the upcoming series,” he said. “We think it’s a strong squad, but equally we’ve got a group of players on the fringe of selection who are ready to be called upon if necessary.”

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Sly won’t be in Rambo series

LOS ANGELES: Despite the production companies endeavours to get the original Rambostar on board the project, Sylvester Stallone will not feature in the series.

The star told Deadline on December 7 that he will not be involved in any capacity in theRambo: New Blood TV series bought by Fox . The script for the new series was written by director Jeb Stuart of Die Hard fame and was to focus on Rambo’s relationship with his son. The report suggests that without Stallone’s participation, the project is unlikely to go on.

Stallone remains connected to Fox as an executive producer on another TV series in Development for the network, based on the action franchise The Expendables.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Dry port construction at Rasuwagadhi border point begins

RASUWA: A process has been forwarded for the construction of a dry port at the Rasuwagadhi border check point in Rasuwa district.

Manager at the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board under the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, Hemendra Shahi, said that mapping of the land at Timure VDC for the construction of the dry port has already been completed as the Government of China has already signed the agreement in this regard.

Owners of the land, whose lands are to be acquired for the construction of the dry port, have already been informed, it is learned.

Stating that the dry port would cover 109 ropanis of land including five hectares of Langtang National Park, 58 ropanis of locals as well as land of some government offices, Shahi said that some 300 good-loaded containers could be parked in a systematic manner at the port.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Britain invites Speaker Gharti for visit

KATHMANDU: Britain invited Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar for a visit to the United Kingdom.

Calling on the Speaker today, the British Ambassador to Nepal Richard Morris extended the invitation to her on the occasion of 200thanniversary of the Nepal-Britain ties.

According to Speaker’s Personal Secretary Suraj Kumar Dura, Gharti said she would decide over the invitation considering her schedules and engagement in various parliamentary affairs.

They also agreed to frequently exchange visits of lawmakers between two nations.

Morris had reached the Speaker’s Office in Singhadurbar to congratulate Gharti for her election to the post.

The duo, during the meeting, also discussed other aspects of the bilateral relation, Dura said.

Morris said he has expected the Nepal-Britain relations to consolidate further in the coming days.

He also expressed his concern over the National Reconstruction Authority Bill, currently pending at the Parliament.

Top officials of the Parliament Secretariat and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present during the meeting.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Dutt to be free in 3 months

PUNE: Incarcerated Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, whose five-year sentence for his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts was confirmed by the Indian Supreme Court in March 2013, will be freed from prison by March 7, 2016, official sources said here on December 8.

The sources indicated that barring last-minute glitches, Dutt would be released by March 7 after completing the remaining 42-month period of his sentence.

Dutt was acquitted of terror charges under the TADA, but found guilty of possessing illegal arms, acquired ostensibly to protect his family during the communal conflagration that engulfed Mumbai after the demolition of the Babri Mosque on December 6, 1992.

Following the Indian apex court orders, his bail was cancelled and he was ordered to surrender within four weeks, which he complied with on May 16, 2013 and was lodged in Arthur Road Central Jail.

A week later, he was shifted to the Yeravada Central Jail, Pune, where he has been lodged since then and has earned the reputation of being a well-behaved inmate.

Of the five-year sentence, the actor had already served 18 months as an under trial and was required to undergo another 42 months, which is now on the verge of completing.

In between serving time, Dutt was granted either parole or furlough on various grounds, attracting a lot of criticism from various quarters, while some prominent personalities demanded his release from jail.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.