Narayanghat-Butwal road defects decrease number of tourists visiting Lumbini

KATHMANDU, June 09: Number of tourists visiting the Lumbini, enlisted in the World Heritage Site, started decreasing due to poor condition of Narayangadh-Bhutwal road section. 

According to the Lumbini Development Trust, at least one million domestic tourists used to visit Lumbini annually before 2076 BS. Such number of tourists did not visit Lumbini area for two years. 

Member-Secretary of the Trust, Sanuraja Shakya, told RSS that though country returned to normalcy after Coronavirus pandemic, around 600 thousand tourists visit Lumbini very year now. It is all because of road defects, he argued.

Sharing that it took 13 hours to reach Kathmandu from Butwal in an office vehicle, he stressed the need for upgrading different roads to increase religious tourists. 

Though infrastructures were developed in Lumbini area, the tourists have been complaining about the problems, especially of the Narayangadh-Butwal road section, he mentioned. 

Arrival of domestic and foreign tourists in Lumbini as well as different districts of the west Nepal would increase if the Narayangadh-Butwal road was upgraded on time.