Reconstruction yet to start in Helambu and Shermathang

File photo

Melamchi / April 21: Helambu is a popular tourist destination of Sindhupalchowk and so is Shermathang, the origin of the Hyolmo community.

However, failure to rebuild and reconstruct monasteries and shrines, that were a major tourist attraction, have led to a steady decline in tourists arrival since the April 25 earthquake. The quake survivors continue to live in temporary shelters almost a year after the disaster struck.

Majority of the hotels have come back to operation but the number of tourists coming here has gone down, says former Chair of Helambu VDC Pasang Hyolmo. “Almost 150 trekkers would arrive here in a day but that has gone down significantly”, he said.

The locals have demanded that the government immediately start rebuilding the many monasteries and shrines that were damaged in the earthquake. Furthermore, the locals needs to be provided with support to shift their residence to a quake-resistant house.

Sindhupalchowk was one of the districts that suffered the highest casualty in the earthquake. However, it is very unfortunate that the government has not been able to expedite reconstruction works here, said Chairperson of Melamchi town development committee Prakash Shrestha. RSS