The banquet dinner the government is planning at Gokarna Forest Resort in honor of the government heads coming to Nepal for the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit is facing uncertainty due to poor condition of the access road to the resort.
The government is planning to fill the potholes and complete blacktopping before the start of summit on August 30, and Minister for Physical Infrastructure Raghuvir Mahaseth had gone for field visit with an aim of completing the works by August 26.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs now has started discussions to shift the banquet to another place as the road seems unlikely to be completed in time, according to sources. The issue was raised during the ministry's meeting on Wednesday.
The government was preparing to fly the government heads on MI-17 helicopters of the Nepal Army if the road was not completed. The ministry has now started to look for other options after experts pointed at the threat of the land caving in under the chopper's weight at the resort during the rainy season.
Government heads of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand are coming to Kathmandu for the two-day BIMSTEC Summit.
