By Our Correspondent
Nepalgunj, July 14: The hotel business of Banke has affected severely from the prolonged nation-wide lockdown enforced for the last four months, said hotel entrepreneurs.
The investment about of Rs. 30 billion was in crisis after closure about 400 hotels and restaurants for the last four months due to lockdown caused by COVID-19, according to the Hotel Entrepreneurs Association Banke.
Chairman of Hotel Entrepreneur Association Bhim Prasad Kandel said that hotel entrepreneurs have faced a loss above Rs. 5 billion due to closed the business in four months.
“The investment having worth Rs. 30 billion at the hotel sector in Banke district is in crisis. Out of total investment, investment of banks and financial institutions stand at Rs. 20 billion to the hotel and restaurant,” he said.
Following the closure of hotel and restaurant, about 15,000 people who are working in hotel directly become jobless and they faced problem to join hand-to-mount for their households, Kandel said.
Entrepreneurs have compelled to displace from the business after the government did not introduce any relief package to protect the business in this crisis, Bhaskar Kafle, president of Federation of Hotel Entrepreneurs’ State-5.
They had repeatedly requested federal and state governments to introduce entrepreneurs targeted an economic package to save the billions of investment, but it could not happened by the date.
Many hotel entrepreneurs have displaced from the business after they failed to tolerate losses due to lockdown, said Yeknarayan Chapagain, president of Hotel Entrepreneurs’ Association Kohalpur.
Hotel entrepreneurs are demanding for discount of house rent, provide discount for the tariff of water and electricity bills at least one years and write off revenue and business tax at least one years.
Earlier, Banke Hotel entrepreneurs have already handed over 11-point demand to the federal and state governments regarding relief for them.