Cloudy sky, sour heart

On Tuesday, after watching the sunset on the shore of Phewa Lake, he returned to Sarangkot to the north and said, "The sky is cloudy". We may not be able to see the mountains from here for a few days.' 74-year-old Suzanne said that she will complete her dream of seeing the mountains by going on a hike next week. She said, 'Hopefully there will be no such smoke and pollution in the place we will reach.'

When the sky is open, three mountains above 8 thousand meters can be seen from Pokhara. Annapurna I, Dhavalagiri and Manaslu . Domestic and foreign tourists who come to Pokhara are eager to take pictures with the Machapuchhre in the background. The sky of Pokhara has not been blue since the beginning of March. The air here is not healthy due to smog and pollution. The mountains are completely covered with snow around the valley. Dal Bahadur Shrestha, who came to Pokhara with his family of 6 from Kathmandu Shankhamul, reached Pumdibhumdi on Tuesday. He could not see the mountains standing tall from the high mountain like before. Fewatal and Pokhara market also looked dim. "This time it was not as fun as before, I could not see the mountains," he said, who came to visit Pokhara for the fifth time. Seeing the cloudy sky, my heart became sour.

The effect of fire smoke and pollution has started to be seen in the tourism of Pokhara. Although the presence of Indian and other foreign tourists is high in Pokhara at the moment, the number of tourists coming out for sightseeing has decreased. Anand Gurung, president of Pokhara City Tour Guide Association, says that tourists do not want to go to popular destinations for sightseeing after the sky is covered with snow. Sarangkot, Pumdibhumdi, Kaskikot, Kahundanda are popular destinations for sightseeing including Himashrinkhala, Phewa Lake, Pokhara Bazaar. Gurung said that the number of tourists reaching that destination has decreased by 25 percent. "Even we are not able to explain by showing the mountains," he said, "even the tourists go there and say why they don't see anything." This has affected Mar City tour guides the most commercially.' He has experienced that tourists have shortened their stay after the weather became mild.

Pomnarayan Shrestha, chairman of the Pokhara Tourism Council, says that the number of tourists has increased since Pokhara was declared the capital of tourism. He said that after tourists come, they get disappointed if they don't get to see the mountains. "It may be due to global temperature rise and climate change," he said, "if not taken care of in time, it will cause serious damage to tourism business." . The tourist village in the north-east of Pokhara is near Sikles Himal . Tourists who reach Sikles aim to observe the Annapurna and Lamjung mountains closely. Now, since the last week of March, the mountain has not been seen even from Sikles and Tangting, it is covered with fog. According to Paras Gurung, chairman of Sikless Hotel Management Committee, there is currently a fire in the forest of Taprang, a nearby village. The fire has also spread in Taprangpari Ghyamrang .

Tourists inquire about whether the mountain can be seen/not seen from Sikles when the hill is not visible from Pokhara. "There was no question of deceiving the guests, now we say that the mountain is not visible," said Chairman Gurung, "more than that, how many bookings have been cancelled." "At first, it seemed like a fire, but it has only been 2-3 years since it started to freeze like this," he said, "if it rains, it will be clean." It didn't rain.'

Cold has spread from Pokhara to Annapurna region. Trekking guide Heera Malla said that he could not show the mountains to the tourists from the tourist village of Ghandruk. She took two foreign tourists on a 14-day trek to Mardi, Ghandruk, Ghorepani-Poon Hill-Khopra. She said that because the weather was not clear, she cut short the trip and returned to Pokhara in 11 days at the request of tourists. "Tourists always ask if the weather here is like this," she said, "we say it is because of the fires." Monday's AQI was 164, Sunday 156 and Saturday 153 . Pokhara's pollution seems to have reached the level of harming human health. Due to low visibility due to pollution, air flights were stopped at Pokhara International Airport. Conservationist Hum Bahadur Gurung said that due to forest fires and pollution from Northeast India, the sky of Pokhara has also been clouded. He says that even in Pokhara, the pollution is high because they are frozen in a bowl and cannot go outside. "This is affecting the Himalayan villages in the southern part," he said.

According to the data of Kaski Division Forest Office, 5 thousand hectares of forest area has been burnt since February. Before planting corn, the fire that the locals set in the fields has spread to the forest. Kaski's Divisional Forest Officer Komalraj Kafle sees that the community plays a major role in reducing forest fires. "It is important to first create awareness in the community about not setting fire," he said. It cannot be avoided that the Forest Office alone is responsible for controlling the fire after it has started.'