Travel of 117 KM: Change of vehicle at 5 places, 5 thousand fare

On Saturday morning, he could reach the headquarters at 4 pm only after changing 3 more vehicles at Multara in Rukum West, Chalgad in Dolpa and Chugadkhola. "We were able to reach here only after changing five vehicles, the vehicles broke down in between, and because of the dirt road, we traveled on God's trust," he said, "In between, we had to get off the vehicle and turn over the goods." He said that it will cost at least 5 thousand rupees to reach Dolpa from Nepalganj.

Parmal Budha of Thulibheri-3 said that because the road built in Bhirabhir is not wide, the journey has become dangerous and difficult. "Even in winter, we have to travel on a road that is built on a difficult terrain in a dredger, and we have to travel with faith in God, playing with riverbeds and floods in winter," he said. Tulsi Prasad Dahal, chief district officer of Dolpa, said that there is still a need to build about 10 bridges on the 117 km section of the Jajarkot-Dolpa road. According to him, at present there are only Beilibridges in Tallu, Rupagad, Tripurakot, Karagad and Khadang. Due to the lack of bridges, goods have to be turned over in 4/5 places. Although the shipping fee is fixed at 10 rupees per kg from Nepalgunj, it has been found that the businessmen are charging more than that when they turn over,'' he said, 'due to which the development work in Dolpa and the kitchen of the locals have become expensive.''

Air service is also not regular in Dolpa, due to which it is a big problem to send patients out, said Sarita Sharma, a health worker at the district hospital. "It is not possible to treat all patients here, even if referred in such a situation, there is a risk of death of the patient," he said, "so far, such a complex patient has not come."

Mudkechula Rural Municipality Chairman Datta Bahadur Shahi said that since the road reached the headquarters four years ago, it was easy for passengers to travel, but due to the lack of bridges and unpaved roads, there are difficulties in transporting daily necessities and construction materials. He said that if bridges are built across rivers and streams, traffic will be regular up to Dolpa Dunai and travel will be easy and the price of daily consumables will decrease four times. "Transportation fares have become more expensive due to the need to change means of transportation from river to river," he said.

He complained that the price of consumer goods has not decreased significantly due to problems such as having to turn over goods in vehicles, not getting porters, and theft of goods. According to him, there are problems such as slow arrival, breakage, and loss of goods when the goods are turned over.

In the last week of March, even though the road track was opened up to Simkot, the headquarters of Humla, the locals have to suffer a lot to come to the provincial capital Surkhet. Locals ride on the road from Simkot to Kharpunath Rural Municipality for about 12 km. From there you have to walk for about 6 hours. The reason is that there is no reclamation of the Karnali river at Chuwakhola and no maintenance of the road above it. Dan Bahadur Rokaya of Simkot-7 said that he had to walk about 50 kilometers from Kharpunath to reach Sallisalla in Sarkegad rural municipality and then board again. "Even if the road reaches the village, it is difficult for us to board a vehicle," he said.

The Chief District Officer of Humla, Vinod Kumar Pokharel, said that as the vehicles were operating in 3 sections, the passengers had to travel hard. "This has not only lengthened the travel time, passengers have also been experiencing unnecessary hassles," he said, "passengers have also been hit with expensive fares." told According to him, now only small jeeps are operating in the 12 km section from Simkot to Kharpu. They are charging Rs 700 to Rs 1000 per person in the name of reserve.

Similarly, he complained that the vehicle operating through Sallisalla to Surkhet charges up to 7 thousand rupees per person in the name of reserve. "In the beginning, we have to walk for 6 hours by car and then we have to take a car again, and we have to pay up to 300 rupees per kg for carrying the goods," he said. could be found, the rent would also be low.'

On the 95 km road from the capital Simkot to Hilsa on the China border, vehicles are still operating regularly. But Prazia Pokharel said that the Humla headquarter has not yet been connected to the road network due to the lack of a bridge over the Karnali River at Chuwakhola. He informed that preparations are being made to monitor and regulate fares as passengers have complained that fares are expensive.