Rafting operator elected as NARA member

Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies (NARA) new working committee member Madan Dhakal, operator of Tamor River Rafting 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.

''Since the inception of NARA on 26 December 1989, nobody from Province 1 were ever a member,'' said Dhakal who had lost his bid for working committee membership by two votes in the previous General Convention. Dhakal added, ''It is interesting that still many rafting operators do not know that we have 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 regulations on illegal rafting operators,'' Dhakal informed. He added, ''We need NARA membership and registration at Tourism Department to be a 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 on 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 a provision of the outgoing president and the president of NARA's Pokhara branch automatically becoming ex-officio members.

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