| Developing sites with tourism potentials
To open more employment outlets
By Gyan Rai
THE government, with a view to judi-ciously solve the burgeoning
unemployment problem that has been persistently defying concerted
prescriptive measures for long, has come out with out with a blueprint
that has yet to prove its efficacy to overcome this employment
hurdle.
For one, it has instituted a high-level commission. Another,
employment generation bodies are going to be established right at the
VDC (village development committee) level and at each tier, they are
to be manned by government and peopleís representatives. This is
being done to ensure maximum participation and representation of the
people. Still another is that it has come out with a tentative outline as
to how it would be going about to achieve its aim: herein, giving over
60,000 unemployed citizens the opportunities to stand on their own
feet, thereby affording them the chance to contribute their share in the
nationís development endeavours.
Urgent necessity
Generating adequate employment opportunities, apart from being an
urgent necessity, is easier said than done in the country. Lack of
enough outlets in the form of industries and service-oriented
enterprises to absorb the growing unemployed workforce coupled
with the absence of the much-needed resources for the government to
fulfill the required pre-requisites to generate employment
opportunities are always there to impede the moves of the
government to open up more employment outlets for the unemployed
citizens.
Yet, merely citing such reasons by the concerned authorities without
making concerted efforts to overcome them will, needless to say, not
solve this burning problem. In fact, it would be only aggravating it the
more. But letting this unemployment problem to fester on could lead
to socio-economic dislocationsówhich, in turn, could throw a
spanner in the nationís development drive. As such, while the need
for the government to come up with appropriate programmes to
generate employment opportunities is always there, it also looks to
reason for the government to explore other avenues to open up more
employment outlets.
Herein, what needs to be pointed out is that though the governmentís
efforts alone would not be enough to make available more
employment chances, it still can act as a catalyst to pave the way
towards the same. Provided, of course, it comes up with the
much-needed determination backed by a willingness to harness the
available resources by tapping the inherent potentials of the people.
Amongst the few such avenues available for both the nation and the
government so far, one is definitely the tourism sector. More
especially the hitherto untapped tourism potentials dotting the nook
and corner of the country.
As all know by now, even though Mother Nature seems to have
completely forgotten to bestow on Nepal her largesse in the form of
commercially exploitable mineral resources, as if to compensate this
oversight, she has filled the country with a variety of natural resources
which, in turn, have the potentials to cater to the varied interests and
needs of all Nepal visitors. The yearly increasing number of tourists
flocking to the country in pursuit of their respective interests is
enough proof that the country does possess such touristic sites.
While these Nepal visitors are pursuing their touristic interests, they
are not only generating the much-coveted foreign exchange for the
state coffers but are also sustaining as well as opening employment
opportunities for the people. Particularly for those living in and
around the tourist spots and sites or along the numerous trekking,
mountaineering and white water rafting trails.
This will be very much apparent to all if they care to walk the
popularly used trails to one trekking, mountaineering and white water
rafting site or the other. Or, for that matter, if they go on sight-seeing
tours of religious, historic or cultural sites located either in the urban
enclaves or rural areas.
That the nation, endowed as it is with rich yet varied cultural and
natural settings, has yet to harness such endowments to the hilt by
tapping their potentials through appropriate measures is by now also
well-known to all. More particularly to the government and the people
living in such spots which, till date, have remained off the tourismís
beaten trails, thereby forfeiting them from the chances of being
tapped and exposed to tourism traffic. In fact, it would not be off the
mark to note that almost every districtóof which there are 75óof the
country has at least one such a tourism-potential site having either
historic, cultural, religious, sites or trekking or even white water
rafting potentials.
From amongst such numerous spots having tourism potentials, the
Khaptad area, located in the Far Western Development region and
touching at least three districts, is one. The area, apart from having
religious significance due to the hamlet occupied by the late Saint (or
Baba) of Khaptad, is also endowed with spectacular natural scenery
and charm. Yet, its full religious and tourism potentials are still
begging to be optimally harnessed by both the local populace and the
concerned tourism authorities.
But not for long. Especially if we are to go by the reports concerning
the formation of a Khaptad area tourism committee with the objective
of developing the Khaptad area as a religious-cum-tourism site.
Herein, many a detractor (of which there seems to be quite a handful)
might point out that tourism-related business and employment
opportunities are, at best, seasonal in nature. Nevertheless, at a time
when there are hardly enough adequate employment openings in other
sectors to absorb the yearly increasing legions of unemployed
youths, the formation of the Khaptad area tourism committee can be
termed as a laudable and exemplary initiative.
For one, instead of just letting things lying down, thereby allowing the
tourism and religious potentials of the famous Khaptad area to remain
dormant in the bargain, the concerned people and authorities, on their
own, have initiated a tentative step towards harnessing the areaís
inherent plus points. Though only time will tell as to whether or not
their joint move will be realising their common objective, what indeed
is noteworthy is that the local populace seem to have realised that
until and unless they themselves initiate the necessary moves to uplift
their own socio-economic status by tapping their available resources
and potentials, nothing worthwhile would be happening in their area.
This self-reliance and initiative on the part of the local people and
their representatives should, therefore, only not be praised by all but
also emulated by the people of other areas having tourism potentials.
Of course, desiring to harness the tourism potentials on the part of
the populace by forming a committee is one thing and making it come
true is quite another. Especially when the local people lack the
necessary means, expertise and manpower to develop the area having
tourism potential. Despite all this, the very fact that the Khaptad
areaís local people and their representatives have realised the
importance of pooling available resources if their common objective
is to be gained shows that they are indeed seeking out possible
solutions to the obstacles blocking their way. And where there is a
will, there will always be a way. Given the steps initiated by them,
there is every reason to hope that their aim, sooner or later, will be
realised.
In this regard, of interest to note is that the committee, apart from
having the peopleís representatives from four districts (Achham,
Bajhang, Bajura and Doti) to the Lower House of the Parliament as
well as the district development committees, has have secretaries of
the ministries of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Forest and Soil
Conservation, Finance, and Law and Justice as its members. This
should a long way in addressing the resource, expertise and
manpower needs of the local people there as they go about in
developing Khaptad area into a popular tourist and pilgrimage site.
No doubt, the local people and their representatives have still to
overcome many challenges which could range from limited resources
to virtually non-existent expertise and manpower, absence of the
necessary tourism-related infrastructure to the lack of required
transport facilities to reach the area. Despite all this, it is imperative
that the concerned ministries, agencies and authorities tender all
assistance at their disposal. For, by doing so, not only would the
scenic Khaptad area be place firmly in the nationís tourism map and
trail but, in the bargain, adequate employment opportunities for the
local people would be generated by the tourism-related businesses
and services that will be established in the area once Khaptad is fully
developed as a tourist spot.
Potentials
Towards this end, coordinated strategies are a must, especially
between the tourism authorities and the newly constituted
employment generation commission. For, this is one sector which has
all the potentials to not only augment the nationís coffers but also
absorb the unemployed people and youths living in and around areas
having tourism potentials.
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