Fire big blow to tourism in Thamel

Tourism entrepreneurs have said Thursday’s fire outbreak in the Pilgrims Book House in Thamel, Kathmandu, is a setback to tourism.

According to Ram Sharan Thapaliya, president of Thamel Tourism Development Council, the book house was a centre of tourism attraction in Thamel. “Pilgrims was in itself a driving factor of Thamel,” he said. “Besides all other glamour Thamel offers in terms of tourists-friendly hotels and environments, the book house was a separate heritage in itself.”

“In addition to being the country’s one of the largest book houses, Pilgrims, which was reduced to ashes by the fire, had emotional attachments with the many book lovers,” said Surendra Rana, a visitor of the bookshop.

Hundreds of thousands books are said to have been burnt down in the massive inferno that broke out from the Faces Lounge, housed on the top floor of the building where Pilgrims was situated. Police have roughly put an estimated fire loss up to worth Rs 200 million.

source:the kathmandu post,19 may 2013