Helicopter charter is the only option for emergency rescue and treatment in Upper Dolpa. Due to the lack of connection to the national road network, residents here have had to spend lakhs on helicopter charters to rescue complex patients.

Not only that, from transporting food to transporting construction materials, helicopters are also being used.

In the current fiscal year, the Alternative Energy Promotion Center is going to build solar mini-grids in places like Saldang, Bijer, and Komas in She-Phoksundo Rural Municipality. Helicopters have also been used to transport the necessary materials for the construction of this project.

The center is working on a plan to make most of the settlements of the municipality shimmer within this fiscal year, said Pema Wangchen Gurung, vice-chairman of the rural municipality. Solar panels and other materials are currently being transported by helicopter. According to vice-chairman Gurung, solar mini-grids equivalent to about 300 kilowatts are going to be built in various places.

The center has invested 400 million rupees for the construction of the project. 40 million rupees have been invested by the local municipality. ‘After the project is operational, most of the nine wards within the municipality will be illuminated by solar lights,’ said Gurung, ‘not only that, but in the cold season, the general public will be able to cook food and warm the environment inside the house using various electrical appliances.’

He said that due to the state’s neglect in road construction, there is no hope that the people of Upper Dolpa will reach the national transmission line. That is why the people’s representatives are taking the initiative to electrify various wards of the municipality through solar energy.

‘There is no road reaching Upper Dolpa. If the road had been reached, the state would have saved crores of rupees. Due to neglect in road construction, we have to rely on helicopters even for development,’ says Vice President Gurung.

So far, 95 percent of the materials for the project have been delivered to the construction site. The rural municipality has stated that half of the materials were delivered to the construction site via Mustang.

Patients barely get helicopters

Even after more than seven years of connecting the district to the national road network, the road has not reached Upper Dolpa. It takes four to five days to reach the district headquarters. Residents of Upper Dolpa complain that there are many problems when pregnant women, those who have given birth and other complex patients have to be rescued immediately.

The Upper Dolpa region includes Dolpobuddha, Shey-Phoksundo and Chharka Tangsong rural municipalities. There are health posts and clinics in that area, but no hospital. In geographically remote Upper Dolpa, there is no alternative to helicopters when it comes to rescuing critically ill patients.

‘It takes a long time to pay lakhs for a helicopter and wait for permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs,’ said Kyaalpo Thapa Bhote of Dolpobuddha Rural Municipality. ‘It would have been faster if there was a system in place where only permission from the local government or local administration was required to rescue patients in such a place.’

Dabaputi Gurung, 59, of Dolpobuddha Rural Municipality-3 faced a similar problem. When she developed a heart problem and became ill, local health workers advised her to immediately take her to a hospital outside the district. Pamba Gyaljung Lama, 49, of Shey-Phoksundo Rural Municipality-8, Kalang, also had to be taken to the hospital for immediate treatment of both her legs that were frozen.

Relatives requested Dolpobuddha Rural Municipality to take the initiative for rescue by helicopter. The rural municipality wrote a letter to Simrik Air on 2 Mangsir, requesting assistance in rescuing the two people. Simrik Air's helicopter has been transporting solar mini-grade materials to Shey-Phoksundo Rural Municipality for a few days now.

Simrik wrote a letter to the District Administration Office, Dolpa, late for permission. According to Chief District Officer Bhimraj Koirala, as soon as Simrik's letter was received, a letter was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs for permission. The permission for the flight came in no time. It was already 4 pm when this process was completed. The Civil Aviation Authority has a rule that helicopters cannot fly after 5 pm. Therefore, the patient was taken by helicopter only to Jufal Airport that day.

Even after reaching Jufal, the helicopter had to pay 252,000 rupees for the fare. ‘We had asked Summit Air for a ticket two days ago because we were sick, but they refused to take the patient, saying they did not have a ticket,’ said Bhote. ‘One of the patients is a complex patient, and we did not even get a ticket two days ago.’

After not getting a ticket that day, the patient was flown to Nepalgunj on a Sita Air flight the next day, paying more than the regular fare. ‘The Dolpa-Nepalgunj fare is only about 7,000, but that day they charged 3,000 more,’ said Bhote.

It costs the residents of Upper Dolpa around 1 million to book a helicopter from Kathmandu. Locals say that if a patient has to go to the hospital by helicopter due to illness, even their belongings will not be enough. ‘It takes up to a week to travel to the district headquarters on the road. "There is a risk of death for critically ill patients on the way," said Pemma Chhewang Gurung of Dolpobuddha, "There is no alternative to calling a helicopter even after taking a loan."