XV Elephant Festival to be held in Sauraha

Chitwan– The XV Chitwan Elephant Festival is taking place at Baghmara ground in local Sauraha from December 26 to 30. 

The elephant festival is being organized with the goal of highlighting the importance of elephant and its protection, of urging collaboration in the conservation of wildlife and of promoting the domestic and international tourism, Regional Hotel Association Sauraha’s president Suman Ghimire said. 

Ghimire is the coordinator of the XV Chitwan Elephant Festival Organizin Main Committee. 
Events as elephant picnic, elephant race competition, football match involving elephant calves, elephant beauty queen contest, elephant polo, elephant decoration competition and variety cultural performance by national and international artists have been planned as part of the festival. 

A special programme on the theme of literature and tourism is also to be organized on the sidelines of the festival. 
The festival is organized every year in partnership with the local United Elephant Operation Cooperatives Limited, the Baghmara Community Forestry Management Committee, the Sauraha Saving and Credit Cooperatives Limited, the Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN), Sauraha and the National Trust for Nature Conservation, among other organizations. 

The festival is estimated to cost Rs 4.91 million. Ghimire said the President Bidya Devi Bhandari is scheduled to inaugurate the festival. 
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