Two weeks ago, Keshav Pokharel of Dang's Ghorahi sub-metropolitan city-2 went to Rara with his family of five. "Let's not talk about the beauty of Rara, it fascinates anyone who goes there," he said, "but the unpaved and dangerous road travel and the lack of proper accommodation and food facilities in Rara, once you visit, you will not want to go again."

Suraj DC of Birendranagar Municipality-6 of Surkhet also returned from wandering with 9 friends a week ago. ``Rara is a place you must visit once in your life to see the beauty,'' he said, ``but there is no good phone service, nor are there any good hotels to stay in. The excruciating journey on the dilapidated Karnali Highway makes travelers sick.' In the financial year 2080/81, 17 thousand and 15 thousand 400 tourists came to Rara in the previous year. Although the number of visitors to Rara is increasing every year, due to the lack of infrastructure, the tourist attraction in Rara has not yet increased. Tourism businessman Chandraprakash Sharma said that there is a problem in attracting tourists due to the lack of roads, lack of accommodation facilities, Wi-Fi, telephone etc. According to him, despite the contract of Nagma-Gamgarhi road, there is a problem due to lack of black paper work. Even if there is a black sheet on the almost 3 and a half kilometer section of the Talcha-Salleri road section, it would be a big relief for the tourists . According to Rara National Park, 19 thousand 104 domestic tourists, 77 from SAARC countries and 276 foreign tourists have visited Rara during one year.

Tourists who have come to Rara have gone for sightseeing to Murmatap, Majhghat, Salleri and other nearby destinations including Raratal . "Most of the tourists who come here stay for two days, if the nearby tourist destinations can be connected, the stay of tourists coming to Rara could be extended," said Sharma, "There are no good hotels in Rara, so tourists have to go to Jumla to stay."

Khem Bahadur Rawal, Ward President of Chayanatharara Municipality-6, said that due to lack of budget and lack of master plan, even the local residents could not benefit much from the lake. "Tourists who come here take local products in the form of koseli, and the locals become self-sufficient. If the youth could be mobilized as guides and volunteers, they would get employment at the local level," he said. Out of that, entry fee of 40 lakh 66 thousand rupees has been collected from tourists. Mahesh Neupane, senior conservation officer of the park, said that they charge Rs 100 from domestic tourists, Rs 1,500 from SAARC countries and Rs 3,000 from foreign tourists.

The government established the Rara National Park 49 years ago to protect the largest Rara Lake in Nepal. In the year 2032, the government declared the park after removing the slums. After the establishment of the park, nearly 450 families left and moved to Bardia. Currently, there are nearly 4401 families in 10 unit committees in the central area . But due to low budget and lack of master plan, neither systematic infrastructure has been developed nor the locals have been able to benefit as expected. "Everyone from workers to boat drivers, transporters, hoteliers are benefiting from Phewa Lake in Pokhara," said local Raj Bahadur Rokaya, "We have not benefited from anything other than the fact that we have the biggest lake in Nepal near the village." But he said, except for some horse traders, boat drivers, hotel operators, others could not find employment. "Other than half a dozen big hotels around Raratal, tourists do not stay anywhere else. We have also built homestays for the convenience of tourists, but they were closed when no tourists came," he said. According to the park, nearly 80 million budget allocated by the federal and state governments for the development of Rara has been frozen for the last 5 years. Four years ago, the federal government allocated a budget of Rs. 6 million for the construction of a comprehensive tourist information center in Rara and Rs. The amount was returned without being used . Similarly, the state government allocated 40 million rupees in 2075, 076 and 077 to build a cycle road around Raratal. If all the funds are frozen after not being used, the construction of the bicycle road has been stalled for a long time .

Civic leader Rup Bahadur Malla said that tourists are suffering when the budget for the development of Rara is withdrawn. ``There is no good road or accommodation for tourists,'' he said, ``There is no quality hotel, so tourists are forced to sleep in tents.'' According to Devikrishna Rokaya, owner of Eco Resort in Murmatap, although it is under the Greater Himalaya Trail, Raratal has not become a center of attraction for tourists due to geographical difficulty and lack of infrastructure. According to him, the tourism board is also allocating a budget of 15 to 20 million rupees every year for Rara development. He complained that the amount is also returned every year.

The senior conservation officer of the park, Neupane, said that the budget freezes due to random allocation of funds without a master plan, insufficient budget allocation, and late approval at the end of the financial year. "Had the budget for infrastructure development been properly utilized, the basic needs of the tourists could have been met," he said. According to him, almost 60 percent of the budget is spent on salaries, so there is a problem in infrastructure construction.

Last year, 2 crore rupees were allocated for the construction of bicycle road in Rara . But due to the negligence of the contractor company Shankar/Malika Construction Services, only one kilometer of the ring road construction work was completed. Similarly, the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment of the state government allocated Rs.

Local leader Karn Rawal said that the residents of the central region have been forced to live in poverty for a long time due to the neglect of the government. "The local people are deprived of basic development because the park does not allow them to build roads, electricity, etc., when the crops planted by the farmers are destroyed by wild animals, the local produce is not enough to eat even for 3 months," he said, "because of the attraction of non-governmental organizations like other parks, no one has helped in earning a living, the park has caused more harm than good to the locals." Six kilometers. Suresh Adhikari, Minister of Industries, Tourism, Forests and Environment of Karnali State Government said that a master plan is being prepared for the development of Rara Valley. According to him, nearly 40 million rupees have been allocated for infrastructure development in the Rara area in the current financial year.