10 Jan, Chitwan: Prime Minister Pushpa Kaml Dahal has said initiatives would be made to operate regular flights to and from the Meghauli airport in the district after it is improved and systematised.

Inaugurating the Meghauli Small Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project at Buddhanagar of Narayani Municipality-3 here today, he said operation of regular flights at the airport would help prop up the tourism in Meghauli area. PM Dahal said he would provide whatever policy-level support is required from the government side.

He pledged that initiatives would be taken by the Office of the Prime Minister for the prompt upgrading the road extending up to Golaghat via Narayangadh-Meghauli while expressing the hope that the construction of the road would help increase the number of internal and foreign tourists in the Meghauli region.

The Prime Minister stated that government assistance would be forthcoming to provide maximum compensation to the people of the buffer zone of the Chitwan National Park who are affected by the wild animals.

“The number of tourists has increased because of the wild animals and we all should work towards controlling the human and physical damage due to the wild animals,” he said.

Director General of the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Tej Raj Bhatta, president of the Meghauli Buffer Zone Consumers Committee Shyam Prasad Adhikari, Chairman of the Meghauli Small Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project Indra Bahadur KC and Project vice-chairperson Meena Neupane, among others also expressed their views on the occasion.

The project was constructed a cost of Rs 172 million. Of this cost, the government provided Rs 86 million, the Town Development Fund a loan of Rs 77 million 910 thousand and the consumers contributed Rs 8 million 94 thousand. The project has the capacity to supply 2.1 million litres water daily benefiting 1,765 families. RSS