By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Nepal’s oldest green resort, founded in the early 1960s by a legendary British tourism entrepreneur who also gave this country its famous elephant polo tourneys, has been forced to shut down after its lease expired and the new government was not able to extend it immediately.
The Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge, located in the heart of the national park in southern Nepal’s Chitwan district, a major tourist attraction, was founded by Jim Edwards, who came to Nepal via Iran, Afghanistan and New Delhi, and decided to make it his home.
The green resort, which employs over 300 people, including 12 elephants, was asked by the park authorities to close down from Thursday after its 20-year lease expired.
Along with it, six other lodges inside the park were also shut down for the same reason.
“It is going to send negative messages to tourists at a time Nepal is seeking to draw 1 million visitors in 2011,” said Yadav Bantawa, general manager at Tiger Tops.
“Tiger Tops opened when the national park did not even exist. It has contributed immensely in terms of business, royalty and conservation efforts. We pay the government annually about NRS 10 million as royalty and conservation fees.”
Wildlife and green organisations have been critical of the government for the mushrooming of resorts in the national park, which is a Unesco-declared World Heritage site.
World Wildlife Fund Nepal says while tourism should be promoted in the park, it has to be eco-friendly and without adversely affecting or destroying the prime habitat of wild animals.
“For this the infrastructure of all the resorts should be ecofriendly,” said Anil Manandhar, director WWF Nepal. “Big permanent structures should be allowed only in the buffer zone of the park, and not in the core area. The eco-friendly infrastructure inside the park should not be in prime habitat of wild animals.”
Manandhar also said the government should have strong regular monitoring measures and immediately close down the resorts if they were found flouting the park’s rules and regulations.
Bantawa said the resorts were in dialogue with the forest ministry and the results were positive.
He said the government was ready to extend the leases but needed a formal approval from the cabinet.
With Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal being in Egypt for the 15th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit, a full cabinet meeting has not been held since his departure Tuesday. Nepal would return Saturday.
The seven resorts together employ over 1,000 people directly as well as about 70 elephants.
While they have been closed to tourists awaiting a decision by the government, a skeletal staff is present in all seven to feed and look after the elephants.