January 27: Revenue collection of Sagarmatha National Park has increased by more than 10 percent. According to the Namche-based national park office, the revenue collection has gone up by 10.54 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year 2023/24 as compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year (FY 2022/23).

The national park officials shared that they collected Rs 62.32 million in revenue from Shrawn (mid-July to mid-August) to Poush (mid-December to mid-January) of the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, the national park collected Rs 69.67 million in revenue during the corresponding period of the current fiscal year, said Information Officer of the Park, Manoj Kumar Mandal.

He shared that Rs 656,000 in revenue was collected in the month of Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August), Rs 3.395 million in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September), Rs 21.054 million in Asoj (mid-September to mid-October), Rs 31.227 million in Kartik (mid-October to mid-November), Rs 10.143 million in Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December) and Rs 3.21 million in Poush (mid-December to mid-January) of the current fiscal year.

Mandal, who is also the conservation officer of the national park, said that the national park collected the maximum revenue of Rs 66.67 million under the tourism heading followed by Rs 4.083 million revenue under the heading of forest fodder sales, and Rs 2.5 million from penalty and fines.

According to the national park, a total of 28,390 tourists visited the Sagarmatha area in the current fiscal year. The park has fixed the entry fee of Rs 100 for Nepali citizens, Rs 1,500 for tourists of SAARC countries, and Rs 3,000 for tourists from other countries.

Similarly, it charges Rs 3,000 for landing a helicopter. -- RSS