Last year on Chait 4, we enthusiastically declared Gandaki province as the hub of tourism and Pokhara as the capital city of tourism. After I was elected, the first decision was to make it a tourism capital. For that, the announcement was made after a study and a long discussion on what process should be completed to announce it by forming a group under the coordination of the vice-chairman of our Planning Commission, Krishnachandra Devkota.

We also included it in the policy. Not only Pokhara, but all the local levels of Gandaki province and all organizations related to the tourism sector have unanimously decided that 'our main path is tourism'. 

experts have also said that tourism is the real thing for the development of Nepal.  The politics of the past has been slow to determine what should be the first priority of all our resources. The current politics of Pokhara metropolis and Gandaki province has understood that our main focus is tourism. We have carried out all our activities under this .   

Due to global climate change, fish tails are now black. This year, since it hasn't rained since July, it has been a bit more black for a long time . However, what you see in Machhapuchhre is the same figure, as Pokhara is seen from the same eye. From the point of view of education, it is an educational center, from the point of view of health, it is a hub of health, it has become the capital of tourism, and from the point of view of sports, Pokhara is amazing. For centuries, Pokhara has excelled in all three categories of nature, culture and adventure.

Considering the responsibility that we have to hand over the legacy given by our ancestors to the next generation, we want to work in a planned way in our policy and politics to preserve the abundant potential of tourism till tomorrow. For this, our Urban Planning Commission has formulated a tourism development policy in the five-year plan. In the policy and program of the current financial year, Pokhara metropolis has given the first priority to the tourism sector . Tourism was not a priority before our group arrived. 

Now we have set a big budget for tourism development . Be it in terms of other infrastructure or sustainable tourism development, major projects have been initiated . We are not in a position to fulfill it only with our own budget . Since Pokhara is the capital of Gandaki province, the provincial government should pay attention to what can be done about it. But the fact that Pokhara is within the Gandaki province is sometimes forgotten here. I suggest the provincial government to consider this in the upcoming budget.

We were on the black list yesterday because the budget of the metropolis could go to other issues and only small things could be done. Recently, there have been large development programs worth more than 2800 crores through many development partners. Among these, some projects related to the tourism sector have been advanced through the Asian Development Bank. For example, the matter of making a fast track from the airport to the lakeside has progressed . Climate for tourism in Pokhara  While the talk of change is being raised, there is the issue of improving the quality of the road leading to Panchase area, including herbs. Big projects have started, including making the return corridor of Pokhara and 117 km bicycle trek connecting all the seven lakes . These projects worth 7 billion rupees will help to create new tourism infrastructure. We have included hospitality and agro-tourism in the academic curriculum of

school . Regarding Greater Pokhara, we have cooperated with all the municipalities connected to Pokhara. We have allocated the budget to the connected municipalities as far as we can. We are reviving what we call the Royal Trek, a route taken by Britain's King Charles III when he was Crown Prince . The Tourism Board has also helped in this .  

We will answer thousands of unanswered questions about Phewa Lake, which will rise as soon as Pokhara is called. The Metropolitan Corporation had made a standard of 30 meters and sent it . The Supreme Court overruled . Now every month we are sending our progress report, the decision has reached the final stage in terms of implementation . We will proceed with the necessary discussion about where and how much compensation will be given. 

Regarding Pokhara International Airport, we have completed all the work to be done from our level . If Pokhara metropolis had not taken the initiative to move the landfill site, the international airport here would not have started on January 1, 2023. The capacity of the old airport was to handle 1100 passengers daily, while the new airport now handles around 5500 passengers a day. That's all we needed was a domestic airport. There are some problems in geopolitics with the airport. International flights should be fast . 

We are celebrating the year 2025 as the year of visiting Pokhara.  We are calling for national, international meetings, conferences and all kinds of programs to be held in Pokhara throughout the year. Out of the 52 weeks of the coming year, most Fridays and Saturdays are already booked for major events. Pokhara is a tourist destination, a place not to be missed. We are working to ensure that it is a place to visit again and again. 

Pokhara metropolis made policies and laws before Nepal government to work on PPP model. Later, it was said that the projects below 6 billion can be made under the PPP Act, and above that, the investment board will do it . According to this, although Pokhara has prepared programs, we are not able to implement them. Even now our David Fall is locked . That is part of the PPP project . It involves collaboration between the public and private sectors. But there is an understanding that "the private sector will take it away". This is wrong . Calling to invest in Pokhara, but if the door is locked, how will investors come!