Rafting operator from Province 1 makes maiden entry into NARA

KATHMANDU: For the first time, a Province 1-based rafting operator has been elected as a working committee member of the Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies (NARA).

Madan Dhakal, the operator of Tamor River Rafting, which is based in Dharan, has been elected unopposed into the 7-member elected body from the 33th General Convention of NARA held at Kathmandu on Wednesday. Two new appointees would be, later on, informed Dhakal.

”Since the inception of NARA on 26 December 1989, nobody from Province 1 were member there”, said Dhakal who had lost his bid for working committee membership by two votes in previous General Convention. Dhakal added, ”It is more interesting that still many rafting operators do not know that we have been running rafting packages in Tamor since 2005.”

Dhakal has been a member under the chair of Shiwa Adhikari who was also elected unopposed. ”We will make tight regulation on illegal rafting operators”, Dhakal informed to RSS speaking from Kathmandu. He added, ”We need NARA membership and registration at Tourism Department for being legal rafting company.”

Dhakal said his entry into the central working committee of the umbrella organization of the rafting agencies’ operators of Nepal will help promote rafting rivers of Province 1. ”This will boost rafting promotion of Tamor, Arun and other rafting rivers of Province 1.”

The 11-member working committee under Adhikari’s chairmanship was elected unopposed. Adhikari is also the proprietor of the Adrift Adventure Pvt Ltd. Sishir Khanal, the proprietor of Rainbow Adventure, is the vice-president; Narayan Shrestha, proprietor of Rock Riverside Resort, is the general-secretary; Raju Khadka, proprietor of Nepal River Runner Pvt Ltd, is the secretary; Rajendra Thapaliya, the proprietor of Nexus Himalayan River, the treasurer and Indudevi Wagle, proprietor of Swissa Rafting, is the joint-treasurer of the new working committee.

The members elected to the new committee are Mahendrav Shrestha, proprietor of River Bay and Rafting and Dhakal. There is the provision of the outgoing president and the president of NARA’s Pokhara branch automatically becoming the ex-officio members.

The new working committee is elected for a two-year term.