Five-star hotel planned on the western bank of Rara

A modern five-star hotel has been proposed in the western bank area of Rara Lake, Mugu. Rara Project Private Limited, the company that wants to invest in the hotel, has started a fresh environmental impact study to this effect. The company has proposed to build the hotel at Upper Milichour in Rara National Park (RNP) investing Rs 4 billion. On Sunday, Rara Project held a meeting regarding the environmental impact with the officials of RNP and the communities concerned. “We discussed what sorts of environment impacts could be faced after construction of the hotel inside RNP,” said Ramesh Bhatta, environmental consultant. Since there is no infrastructure to attract tourists, stakeholder committees here urged the company to build the hotel soon. In the last four years, the company has conducted two environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies in a bid to build the hotel in the Rara area, which is 2,990 m above sea level. Bhatta said that it was the final study and work on the hotel project would move further soon after necessary consultation with experts. A team of experts will submit an EIA report along with their suggestions to the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation seeking permission. The plan of the Rara Project shows that the hotel will be built on 200 hectares of land and will have a total of 10 modern buildings that will be three to four storeys. In the first phase, the company will build seven buildings and three will be built in the second phase. It is estimated that the hotel will offer employment opportunities to 300 individuals. Facilities such as a Scottish golf course, biking, jogging and hiking are anticipated beside the plan for bird watching and wildlife tours. The company has proposed to generate electricity using the water of Rara Lake for the use of the hotel. The proposal of the company has showed that it would provide a paragliding service in Lower Milichour and build a route for cycling from Talchha Airport to the hotel. It has also targeted to install a cable car from the hotel to Murma hilltop to attract tourists.