Due to the lack of footpaths, the road from Garpa to Burki and Tikadhara area is still dangerous. Some tourists return from Garpa Chheda as they have to walk on a slippery and wet road during the rainy season.
What you should know
In the financial year 2081/082, the Ministry of Tourism of Gandaki Province through the Office of Industry and Tourism allocated 20 lakhs for the construction of a footpath from Dhorpatan to Bukipatan. The tourism office had to struggle to work on the budget. When the Garpa Cheda Bukipatan tourist trail is built, the budget was allocated in the plan because tourists can travel easily. Officials of employees and consumer committees were forced to run dozens of departments and agencies to complete the 2 million plan.
Industry and Tourism Office Baglung, Tourism Ministry Pokhara and Dhorpatan hunting reserve went on a 9-month-long tussle saying that they are going to build a structure inside the hunting reserve without the approval of the reserve. At the end of the year, the office got permission to build a footpath only one and a half meters wide under the direct supervision of the reserve.
Parsingh Thapamgar, head of the office, said that the work had to be completed in three months. Krishna Bhandari, the chairman of the committee, was imprisoned while working through the consumer committee on the charge of working without the reservation's approval. The employees and technicians of the Industry and Tourism Office were forced to rush to the Dhorpatan Sika Reserve, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Forests, Forest Department, Chief Minister's Office, National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Department and the Cabinet Office to do the work worth 2 million. In the current financial year, there is an allocation of 1.5 million for the construction of Dhorpatan-Buki-Fagune-Surtiwang cycle path. The office staff is worried that it will be equally difficult to do the said work .
Local businessmen and farmers say that the lack of footpaths and development obstacles in Dhorpatan have caused problems despite the increase in tourist attraction. Thapamagar says that the work cannot be done without the access of the Ministry of Forests. "It is very difficult to work on the land inside the reserve," said Thapamargar, "development is also needed, when we went to work, we were treated as if we had come to commit a crime."
Kumansingh Gurung, the then Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, is currently the Chief District Officer of Baglung. He suggested that tourism and conservation should be taken equally. "Prosperity is possible from Dhorpatan if tourists can be brought in, but there will be no development by closing the road," said Gurung, "It is also necessary to ease the legal hassles." Gurung said that he returned after reaching Garpacheda and Buki at a height of 4,000 meters. The revenue collected from the reserve goes to the federal government. If tourism can be developed, local farmers and businessmen will benefit. Political parties including Acting Mayor Dhan Bahadur Kayat took many initiatives to plan within the municipality. Bhandari says that it is more difficult to work after the budget.
According to Sujan Darai, the engineer of the office, 500 meters of stairs, 3 bridges and 3 resting places were built with last year's budget. "It is not easy to work inside the reserve, not even a single stone can be touched, but development must be done," he said.
Even now, the road from Garpa to Burki and Tikadhara area is still dangerous due to the lack of footpaths. Some tourists return from Garpa Chheda as they have to walk on a slippery and wet road during the rainy season. After climbing Dhorpatan, Tikadhara and Buki Patan can be reached in one day's walk. Tourists entertain themselves by sitting and eating in the sheepfold. This year, due to the increase in the number of tourists, shepherds also said that they have earned money by hosting guests in Bukipatan.
As many tourists from Pokhara, Chitwan, Kathmandu came to Dhorpatan, the business of hotels and homestays also flourished, the hotel owners said. Most of them have also promoted Dhorpatan and Buki through social media. Tourists reach by car to Patan, where the Dhorpatan Sikar Arksham office is located. The 36 km road from Burtiwang is rough and slippery. This road section has been idle for 17 years since Saljhandi came under the Dhorpatan road project. Not only the 20/30 thousand tourists who visit in a year, but also the farmers from Bobang, Adhikarichaur, Bongadova, Burtiwang, who do regular lakebasi have suffered. There are only Lekali Goreta going to Buki via Dhorpatan. Places like Garpacheda, Chepta Dhunga, Sanghure Gounda, Antarethari, Thado Khola, Dhunge Deurali are forced to travel on foot.
Gurung said that if an attractive footpath can be built, not only tourists will be happy, but it will also be a safe journey. According to the data of the hunting reserve, only 18,000 to 20,000 tourists visited Dhorpatan in the previous year. This year most of the tourists have reached Buki.
'The road leading to Tikadhara is very slippery,' said Ganga Sharma, who came to visit, 'a good footpath should be built at a place that is fun and can take thousands of tourists.' Locals said that despite collecting hunting revenue, the reserve has not invested in the development of the area.
Pashupati Adhikari, the information officer of Sikar Arkash, said that infrastructure cannot be built in such a way as to affect wildlife and the environment. "The situation is good to take tourists by building a normal footpath, but the environment will deteriorate if more infrastructure is built," said the official, "even the Buki will not bloom when many tourists go." Besides, he claims that apart from the currently constructed footpaths, the resting place has already affected the environment. "We do not do the work of infrastructure construction, various organizations have not come up with plans that affect the environment and wildlife," he said, "current year's budget and program may also be difficult to operate."
The tourism office has made local stone walkways and wooden resting places to protect the environment. Engineer Sujan Darai claimed that even the bridge built in Kholakholsi was made of wood. Earlier, 10 km road from Gadikhola of Dhorpatan Municipality-5 through Chamedwar of Ward 6 to Chhentung of Dhorpatan has been tarred, but after 500 meters section has not been connected, the road is unusable . This road could not be connected due to the provision of taking reservation permission along with EIA and IE . The road was built by the infrastructure development office from the budget of Gandaki province.
In Dhorpatan and Buki areas, local sheep farmers are also in trouble due to the lack of goreta and footpaths. Gobind Adai, a local farmer, said that he had trouble going to graze the sheep as the goretas were difficult. Even now there are about 200 sheep. He complained that it was very difficult to chase the sheep in the narrow ditch and gorge. ``There is no good road, there is a danger of sheep falling and dying,'' Adai said, ``If a road could be made, it would be easy for horse riders.'' This summer, Buki is up . Until the last week of August, he grazes sheep in Buki . Then, through Dhorpatan, Bobang, Bensi falls in the winter season . Due to the difficult road, the family members who went to Buki to leave the grains also suffered.
