Conservation and development of Kupinde lake without master plan

Due to the lack of effective work, the lake is still in the same condition as it was two decades ago. Without creating a master plan, no change has been brought about in Sampida Lake by handing over the responsibility of working to Hachuwa's organizations and localities. Kupinde Lake has narrowed due to the stones and mud that fell from digging the road, and the waste brought by the water wells during the rainy season. The length of the lake in the area of ​​30 hectares is 1,200 meters, the width is 250 meters, and the depth is 51 meters.

The area around the lake is becoming smelly due to the things thrown away by the tourists. As part of the lake protection as well as development works, roads, embankments for flood prevention, water, waiting rooms, accommodation for tourists and pilgrims, ring roads and view towers for viewing the lake are said to be built, but four waiting rooms, one four-room accommodation, entrance and one kilometer are being built from the funds provided by the government. It is limited to the embankment in Khare river around the road and lake. A waiting hall and railings with stairs leading to the edge of the lake have collapsed. Some of the existing structures are dilapidated and unusable.

Local and boat operator Shankar Yari said that the lake is shrinking due to the construction of the road and the inability to manage the river's waste and river products during the rainy season. He said that the roads were built from the budget for the construction of various structures and the budget provided by the government was not returned due to various obstacles, so no more structures were built.

'Even the structures that have been built are not in a working condition now . Tourists who came to see the lake have stopped using it,' he said, 'Though there are many things to do such as operating a homestay to accommodate tourists, railings around the lake to attract tourists, view towers to observe the lake from all sides, they have not been able to do these things so far.' He said that there has been a decrease in tourists in Kupinde Lake recently.

Local boat driver Kumar Kawar said that since the committee has become inactive in recent times, there has been no discussion about lake protection. He said that the water level in Kupinde Lake, which used to reach the side of the Barah temple during the rainy season, has now decreased.

He said, "In the forests around the lake, the red gourds bloom in February and March and can be seen at night." Along with the lake, aquatic life and other objects can be observed from the surrounding area. Nobody paid attention to that. Because of this, the tourists come back to the lake only by sharing a boat. It is necessary to attract and sustain tourists when the tourists are decreasing in the recent times than the small structures.

The government of Nepal, Jivis, Tourism Board has been giving grants from eight to one million annually since 2062, and so far more than one crore has been spent. For landslide control, the then Land Conservation Office allocated 40 million from the Parliament Development Fund, the then JIVIS allocated 25 million from the Parliament Development Fund, 25 million from the Union after federalization, 40 million from Karnali Province, 80 million from Bangad Kupinde Municipality, 80 million from the Division Forest Office for tourism promotion, 30 million from the Watershed Program, the budget Kul Bahadur Puri, the Ward President of Bangad Kupinde Municipality-8, said that despite the allocation, only those funds have worked and embankments, gates, and roads have been constructed with those funds.

The master plan has not been made effective, the lake protection committee has become inactive and the budget has been returned because it was not able to work, he said.

'A lot of work remains to be done for tourism promotion . It may cost crores of rupees, but various agencies have been giving budgets like little ones. It is misused more than it works,'' he said. Due to various obstacles, the amount was returned immediately. Karna Bahadur Budhathoki, head of Bangad Kupinde Municipality, said that there is no budget now.' ; He said that some of the structures built in the past are dilapidated and cannot be used due to negligence in conservation.

"For the protection and management of Kupinde Lake, now we have done DPR and environmental testing". We are taking permission to work with the department for that. The department has prepared to grant permission for the construction of various structures on 5 hectares of land. If we get the permission, we will do the work of improving stalls, waiting rooms, temples, drinking water, restrooms, road upgrading to do business from this year," he said. Surkhet, Jajarkot, Rukum, Nepalgunj, Dang, Bardia, Dhangadhi, Kathmandu and foreign tourists come to see the lake.

Jitendra Mahat, head of the Division Forest Office Salyan, which is looking after the work related to tourism promotion, said that because there are big mountains around the lake, there are rivers all around, all the things that are washed away during the rainy season are getting into the lake and it is shrinking. He said that for the past three years, the office for lake protection has provided plastic plants for the construction of embankment, road construction and tourist attraction in Khare River from a budget of around 1 crore. He said that lake protection will be possible only if the work is carried forward by making a master plan and allocating the budget.