Kanchanpur. Kanchanpur: Construction of infrastructure for tourism development of Bandha Lake, a tourist destination at Belauri Municipality-4 in Kanchanpur, has begun.

Among the 100 new tourist destinations announced by the government in 2075 BS, construction of tourism infrastructure is being carried out at a cost of Rs 54.3 million by the federal government. Engineer of Belauri Municipality, Jagdish Joshi, said that the work was going on after signing a contract agreement in May last year to make the lake an attractive tourist destination.

“Our idea is to build a temple in the middle and build a bridge to reach the temple, and there is a plan to build a trust bridge in the vicinity as well,” Joshi said, adding, “According to this plan, the cost of building infrastructure in the lake is estimated to be Rs 270 million.” He said that in the first phase, a wall would be constructed around the lake and various structures would be constructed for the convenience of tourists.

Mayor of Belauri Municipality, Potilal Chaudhary, said that the municipality is also trying to develop bandha lake as the identity of Belauri by incorporating it in the city pride plan for the conservation and tourism development of the lake spread over an area of 27 bighas.

“We have been demanding from the federal and provincial governments for additional budget for the development of the lake,” he said. Daut Construction Service and Bhumiraj Construction are jointly constructing infrastructure in the lake premises.

According to the contract agreement signed on May 17, the work has to be completed by mid-July. According to the locals, the name of the lake has been changed to Bandha Tal as it is spread in a circle. Different species of fish, waterbirds and birds can also be observed in the lake.