Author: Himalaya Post

Kathmandu – A total of 699,552 tourists visited national parks and conservation areas of the country in the last fiscal year 2017/18. Of them, 325,856 were foreign tourists while the remaining were domestic one, according to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Information Officer at the Department, Narayan Rupakheti, said that Rs 646.472 million of revenue was collected from tourists from their visit to conservation areas during the period. The Department collects revenue on different heading including entry fee from tourists and production of documentary at conservation areas. A total of 604,091 domestic and foreign tourists visited national parks and conservation areas in the fiscal year 2016/17 and Rs 552.736 million of revenue was collected from this. Nepal is a leading country in terms of protection of genetic resources and biodiversity as per the ecosystems. Out of the total land area of the country, 23.39 per cent has been managed as national parks, wildlife reserve, hunting reserve, buffer zone and protected areas as per the concept of protected zone. There are 12 national parks including Chitwan, Bardiya, Sagarmatha, Rara, Shey-Phoksundo, Langtang, Makalu Barun, Khaptad, Shivapuri Nagarjun, Vanke, Shuklaphanta and Parsa. The Koshi Tappu Wildlife reserve is the only wildlife reserve. There is one hunting reserve in Dhorpatan while six protected areas including Annapurna, Manaslu, Kanchanjunga, Apinampa, Gaurishankar and Krishnasar. These are important areas in terms of tourism...

South Korea will allow family members of Nepali workers in South Korea to pay a visit and meet the worker at least once during their employment tenure. The South Korean Ambassador to Nepal Park Young-sik said migrant Nepali workers would soon be able to meet with their family members as soon as South Korean government makes all official arrangements for this purpose. During the meeting with the Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista, Ambassador Youngsik said some families have already visited South Korea and returned to Nepal after meeting their family member working there. Ministry spokesperson Prakash Dahal said, Minister Bista had requested Ambassador Young-sik during their previous meeting to facilitate family member visit at least once during the migrant worker’s contract period so that Nepali workers wouldn’t feel stressed during their four year and 10 months long stay. Minister Bista said family visits would give workers a psychological relief from anxiety, loneliness and dispel thoughts of committing suicide. Over the years, the suicide rate of Nepali workers has been high in South Korea. The opportunity to meet with their family members is likely to bring such deaths down. The South Korean government is likely to make an official announcement soon. The Labour Minister requested the ambassador to increase the jobs quota for Nepali workers in South Korea, a country known for offering better facilities and...