Kathmandu, 17 Sep: Jitu Gurung, the operator of Barpipal Resort in Pokhara, said that guests were forced to flee when protesters attacked the resort. On the evening of September 9 (Bhadra 24), demonstrators stormed the resort while almost all the rooms were occupied.
According to Gurung, the attackers torched three tourist buses and three guest cars. They also vandalized and set fire to the resort’s fence, spa, lobby, guest rooms, and other facilities. The group reportedly looted liquor and cash from the property.
The incident occurred during the Gen Z protests on September 9, when several government, public, business, and private properties in Pokhara were vandalized and attacked. Protesters also targeted Barpipal Resort in the evening, carrying out arson and destruction.
Resort Provides Employment to 120 People
Gurung highlighted that Barpipal Resort, along with its hotel and farmhouse, provides jobs to around 120 people. He said the property was built with loans from the bank and family investment, but attackers spread rumors claiming the resort had investment ties to Prachanda, the Chairman of the Maoist Centre.
“The rumor that Barpipal Resort has Prachanda’s investment and must therefore be burned down is nothing but fabricated, baseless, and planned propaganda,” Gurung said. He openly challenged anyone to show proof if they have evidence of such claims.
A Tourism Entrepreneur, Not a Politician
Gurung clarified that the resort has no external investment beyond his family’s and insisted he is not affiliated with any political party. He described himself as a genuine tourism entrepreneur. Despite the damage and financial strain, he promised that employees and their benefits would not be cut.
Bar Pipal Resort
Sharing his personal journey, Gurung said he arrived in Pokhara from Shrimanjyang, Lamjung, 30 years ago with just 1,000 rupees. He started working as a cleaning staff earning 500 rupees per month, later becoming a tourist guide. Eventually, he entered the hotel business by renting houses in Pokhara and managing Iceland Guest House and Silver Oaks Inn.
Seven years ago, he invested his savings and took loans to buy sloped land in Manimarg, Lakeside, where he built Barpipal Resort. Gurung described the resort as a modern infrastructure and his family’s dream project, paying nearly 20 million rupees in taxes annually to the government.
“I stood up to build this resort despite repeated failures, debts, attempts to go abroad, betrayal by agents, the royal massacre, the Maoist war, people’s movement, blockade, earthquake, and even COVID,” Gurung said.
Call for Action Against Criminal Infiltration
He demanded that authorities take strict action against criminal groups who infiltrated the Gen Z movement and carried out arson, vandalism, and looting. Gurung stressed that Nepal must now move toward becoming a corruption-free, stable, and peaceful nation where protests should not be used as an excuse to terrorize entrepreneurs.
