Galkot (Baglung), 6 April: Burtibang Bazaar is the second commercial center of the district. In a context where the business sector in the market area is collapsing due to the emptying of commercial shutters, Burtibang Bazaar here is seen to be thriving in terms of both tourism and business. The tourism business here has been flourishing recently.
Burtibang Bazaar, which is being developed as a new city, is a market listed by the government as one of the 10 model cities in the country. Business here is also flourishing. Burtibang Bazaar, the center of Dhopatan Municipality, is the main city of Nisikhola, Tamankhola, and Badigad Rural Municipality. Healthcare, shopping, and administrative work of the four municipalities are also done from Burtibang Bazaar. Offices such as the area administration office, surveyor, and land revenue office are located in this bazaar.
Locals say that Burtibang Bazaar is bustling with tourists visiting Nepal’s only hunting reserve, Dhorpatan. Recently, the hotel business here has also been doing well due to domestic tourists. Domestic and foreign tourists visiting Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve and Dhorbarahi come here to stay, and since the mid-hill Pushpalal highway connects the area, tourists from Rukum have also come here.
Jit Bahadur Bhattachan, a hotelier from Burtibang, informed that tourists and travelers traveling from Baglung to Rukum come here. He said that investment in the hotel business has increased recently due to the pressure of domestic tourists.
“Guests visiting the tourist spots of Nisikhola, Tamankhola, Badigad and Dhorpatan come here to stay and eat. The potential of Burtibang Bazaar is great due to the tourists visiting Nepal’s only hunting reserve. Large hotels with facilities are being added here. During the tourist season, the hotels here are full,” said Bhattachan. “Burtibang Bazaar is located in the center of a densely populated municipality. Since it is facing a new city, the market here is more dynamic than other markets.”
Keeping in mind the health services of the locals here, a 50-bed provincial-level hospital has also been established, and there are also facilities such as a community campus. Stating that the Burtibang market has become more active after the Mid-Hill Highway is blacktopped, Hira Bahadur Bhandari, a local of Dhorpatan Municipality-6, said that it would be even easier if the Burtibang-Dhorpatan road is blacktopped. There are crowds of people coming to shop in Burtibang, which has 1,200 houses. Locals say that this market, which is connected to Butwal by a highway, has become more active recently due to tourists.
Dholendra Chhantyal, President of the Dhorpatan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that Burtibang Bazaar has become a bustling market due to the Mid-Hill Highway and Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve. He informed that once the highway is blacktopped and connected to Rukum, vehicles and goods vehicles from Rukum east will pass through Burtibang. Along with tourists visiting Dhorpatan, tourists going to Rara from Kathmandu have also started using this route recently, said Chhantyal.
“Vehicles from Rukum reach Kathmandu and other big cities via this highway. Tourists visiting Rara Lake use this highway as a short route to Burtibang,” said Chhantyal. “Compared to other cities, the Burtibang market seems lively. Since there are no well-equipped hotels in the Dhorpatan Valley, a tourist area, and it is 85 kilometers east of Rukum, most tourists spend a night here. This new city is developing as a city with great potential.” It is expected that the tourism business here will flourish even more if the Dhorpatan-Saljhandi road, which is a national pride project, is blacktopped.
