Locals complain that the parties campaigning with lists of completed and unfinished works have failed to notice the dilapidated condition of the main roads in the district.
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There are more than a dozen government offices in one place in the Badgaun area of Kushma Bazaar. But the road in front of those offices has been in a state of disrepair for years.
Even though the Infrastructure Development Office, which is responsible for physical development, is located here, the road has never been given priority.
The state hospital Parbat, which is considered very sensitive due to the pathetic condition of the road, has also been affected. ‘Every day, three to four hundred service recipients come to the hospital.’ The dilapidated road makes it very difficult for pregnant women, the elderly, people with disabilities and children,’ said Yam Pariyar, chairman of the hospital management committee. ‘The dust flying from the road directly enters the hospital, which has an adverse effect on the health of patients.’
Pariyar said that the Gandaki state government and the Intensive Urban Office have been requested repeatedly to reconstruct the road. The previous hospital chairman Shankar Giri also complained that despite visiting the relevant offices during his three-year tenure, he did not listen. ‘The office itself, like Infrastructure Development, is here, but the condition of the road in front of a dozen government offices is a matter of shame for the entire Kushma Bazaar,’ he said.
At present, the candidates are busy campaigning, claiming that they have completed the development works in the district. They are running to claim the achievements such as providing roads to villages and drinking water to households. But the locals complain that the party candidates, who entered the election with a list of completed works, are unable to see the Lathaling road under their noses. The road from the Provincial Hospital Parbat to the Armed Police Force office is only about five hundred meters.
The office of the Chief Election Officer has now been established within the district court premises located next to this collapsed road. On Magh 6, candidates from the UML, Congress, NCP, Rastriya Swatantra Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and other parties reached the office through this collapsed road for the registration of candidacy.
Not only that, candidates including Padam Giri of UML, Arjun Prasad Joshi of Congress, Manahari Timilsina of NCP and Sagar Bhusal of Rastriya Swatantra Party also delivered fluent speeches by gathering cadres in the middle of Lathaling road. But none of them raised the issue of road reconstruction. The workers kept clapping and cheering, but no one raised the issue of the road. ‘There are dozens of government offices starting from the hospital. When the drains are blocked, water accumulates on the road during the rainy season,’ said Hari Bhusal of Kushma, ‘Even if the government bodies ignore it, the people’s representatives should have been able to take responsibility.’ He understands that the candidates did not make election slogans because there are few direct voters in the road-affected areas.
Along with the Provincial Hospital Parbat and the Infrastructure Development Office, the Red Cross, Armed Police Force, Skill Development, Investigation Commission, District Court, Post Office, Agricultural Knowledge Center, Drinking Water, Education, Survey, Land Revenue, Government Attorney’s Office, Veterinary Center, District Health Office, Federation of Nepali Journalists and other offices are located in this area. ‘Journalists have been raising the demand for road repair through news,’ said Sangita KC, vice-president of the Federation of Nepalese Associations, Parbat. ‘But the fact that the issue of roads is not included in the election slogans is the negligence of the parties.’
When the drains on the roads are blocked, the sewage that flows during the rainy season goes towards the Badgaun playground. Government offices have been diverting the sewage towards the playground in the name of protecting their premises. ‘The root of all problems is the lack of roads,’ said Anish Shrestha, a local of Badgaun. ‘The drains have been blocked, the roads become muddy even during normal rains. If the roads are reconstructed, all problems will be solved.’
