: Tourist village Ghandruk has banned construction of concrete buildings going against the standard norms. Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) and Local Tourism Management Committee have issued the directive to conserve the originality of the traditional Gurung village that is known for stone houses with stone roofs, after a surge in construction of concrete buildings of late.
“We have asked for construction of houses without using cement and steel rods and asked the modern homes built during the conflict period to get a traditional look,†conservation officer of ACAP in Ghandruk Sudip Adhikari said.
About half a dozen modern houses were built in Ghandruk during the conflict period flouting the standard norms though the standard had been set up almost a decade ago to conserve traditional homes in the model village of Kaski. 
The Maoist rebels had bombed the local ACAP office in 2001 and forced displacement of the office, making the act of monitoring difficult. “After the closure of ACAP office, we ourselves were also not in a position to enforce the rule,†president of the Local Tourism Management Committee Davin Gurung said.
Gurung said that the rule has been employed to conserve the 400-500 year-old heritage of the village. “Hundreds of tourists from abroad come here to see these traditional houses. If these houses do not remain, who will come to visit them in the future?†Gurung asked.
The few modern homes built flouting the norms have been asked just to modify the face to give them a traditional look without completely demolishing them and the owners have also agreed to do so. Proprietor of Annapurna Hotel Amrita Gurung said, “I had built the concrete building demolishing the old one after the older leaked water and the woods also decayed.â€
She now plans to roof the building with stones by making it inclined and cover the railings with stones to give it a traditional look.
Hotel Mountain´s Ganesh Gurung and Hotel Buddha´s Jimbal Lama have also agreed to modify their concrete buildings bearing expenses of up to Rs 700,000 each. Tourism is the major source of income in the hilly village that yields only potato, wheat and millet due to high altitude.
There are around 80 quality hotels that can accommodate around 1,000 tourists in the area from Syauli Bazar to Annapurna Base Camp, says the local committee putting the number of other registered hotels in the area at 200.
Tags: Annapurna Base, annapurna hotel, gurung, Kaski, maoist rebels, stone roofs