Hilsa is unnaturally deserted, that too right in the middle of the tourism season.
According to hotelier Karma Lama, Hilsa has not seen tourists for the last two years. “It now feels like a dream to think that up to 15,000 domestic and foreign visitors used to come to Hilsa in this season to travel to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar. But COVID-19 stopped everything,” he said.
Hilsa is the main place where national and international tourists gather to cross into China to visit the holy Mansarovar Lake and Kailash mountain. However, since the start of the pandemic, China has closed its borders and has not allowed pilgrims from Nepal to enter its territory. This has kept visitors away from Hilsa since last year.
And this lack of tourists has destroyed the locals’ livelihoods, Lama shared. Hundreds of porters, who previously made their living carrying the tourists’ luggage, have been left jobless, 10 helicopter services, which used to fly travellers to China, have shut operations and seven hotels have closed.
Source : TRN,
