Myagdi / October 20: Local people of Kuinemangale VDC in the district have joined hands to conserve and develop Rikhar area as a tourist destination.

Religion prospect aside, the area, around 40 kilometers north from the district headquarters, Benibazaar and rested on the lap of Dhaulagiri Himalaya, is also important for tourism.

The locals said that they have launched a cleanup campaign and are constructing trails in the area for its publicity to order to draw attention of concerned authorities for its conversation.

Local resident Darshan Chhantyal said that the area has potential for tourism destination due to its fascinating natural environment and biodiversity and cultural variations, apart from the area being home to wildlife and birds. Local people, however, accused concerned authorities of a failure to do any needful to conserve the area.

They said that a temple in the area is on the verge of being damaged, adding that the report prepared after conducting a field observation in the area at the initiation of a local sector is gathering dust due to negligence of concerned authorities. They also said that a lack of hotels and trails leading to the area is also a matter of concern. RSS