Morang, March 31 : Province-1 Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai has pledged to conserve and develop 'Khuwalung' – the religious and cultural heritage of Kirant – as a tourism hub.  

He made this commitment in course of his visit to the Khuwalung area (a meeting point of Udayapur, Dhankuta and Bhojpur) located at Shahidbhumi rural municiplaity-1 on Tuesday.   

The Khuwalung would be conserved as a centre of faith of all Nepali people across the globe so as to promote it as a religious and cultural tourism hub, CM Rai stressed.   

Noting that progress is being made on carrying out a comprehensive study on the operation of waterways in Khuwalung, he said the federal government would also cooperate for the wider development of this area. 

He also made it clear that the province government has not made any decision on disintegration of culturally important stone (Khuwalung) available in the area. 

The Koshi River is the base for shared prosperity, he said, adding emphasis would be laid on undertaking study to explore the potentials of religious and cultural heritages of the area.  

Also speaking on the occasion, Kirant Yayokkha central committee chair Diwas Rai also stressed the need to protect the Khuwalung area and develop it as a tourism hotspot.