More than a dozen development projects in the Limi region have been put on hold until April due to extreme cold and up to three feet of snow.
What you should know
The roads leading to and from Limi under Namkha Rural Municipality-6 in Humla have been completely blocked after they were covered with snow. The area around Limi has already experienced three snowfalls.
To reach Limi, one has to cross Nara and Nyalu lakes, which are located at an altitude of about 5,000 meters from Hilsa on the Chinese border and the district headquarters Simkot. Both lakes are currently covered in about three feet of snow.
Transport services from the district headquarters Simkot to Hilsa had been suspended since the first week of Mangsir. 'Limi is now completely under natural lockdown, it will take at least four months for the snow to melt,' said Ward Chairman Paljor Tamang, 'If any local falls ill, there is no other option but air rescue.'
Limi has three villages, Til, Jang and Halji. There are 147 households in all three villages. However, since the second week of Kartik, about 10-15 people have left their homes and most of the residents have moved to places such as the district headquarters Simkot, Nepalgunj, Surkhet and other places for about six months.
Nearly six dozen projects under construction in Namkha Rural Municipality have been stalled due to snowfall and extreme cold. 'Due to the extreme cold, there has been a problem with cement freezing. Most of the villages are empty, and there is also a shortage of manpower to work,' said Rural Municipality Chairman Prem Bahadur Lama, 'That is why we have stopped development and construction work until April.'
Work on the Chhyachhara-Yalwang Gouda road section under the Karnali Corridor, which is being built with the federal government's budget, has also been stopped due to the cold. Similarly, work on six projects under the Simkot-Kharpu (Mansarovar-Kailash Gateway) Integrated Infrastructure Development Program, which is being run with the state government's budget, has also been stopped. In addition, Chairman Lama informed that the construction work of five school buildings, two roads and some temples has also been obstructed. The total budget of these projects is about 100 million rupees.
Rural Municipality Chairman Bijay Bhandari said that about two dozen projects under construction in Simkot Rural Municipality have had to be stopped due to the extreme cold. 'It is not possible to carry out cement and slope work,' he said, 'However, construction work is continuing on other small projects.'
Tshiring Kapne Lama, chairman of Mugamkarmarong Rural Municipality in Mugu, said that the seasonal migration of locals has had a major impact on development. 'In the Himalayan district, development takes only one month,' he said. 'Six months of snowfall, two months of herb collection season and three months of rain are holding back development.' According to him, due to the lack of road facilities, construction materials have to be transported from the district headquarters at a cost of up to 100 rupees per kilogram, which is high. 'Cement, which costs 1,000 rupees per bag in the district headquarters, costs at least 5,000 rupees to the rural municipality,' he said.
