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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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