‘Only when elections come, a concrete bridge is built at Jhulaghat’ Khimananda Bhatta, vice-president of Baitadi’s civic leader Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said while narrating the demand for the construction of a concrete bridge at Jhulaghat, ‘Now elections have come again. Candidates are promising to build a bridge. But we don’t believe it.’

There is a double-lane paved road towards India. On the other side, the road has been blacktopped up to Jhulaghat, the last point of the Mid-Hill Highway, towards Nepal. But there is no concrete bridge at the Jhulaghat border crossing over the Mahakali River connecting Nepal and India. There is no option but to travel on foot on the dilapidated suspension bridge built 150 years ago.

The demand for the construction of a concrete bridge at this Jhulaghat border is Baitadi’s perennial election agenda. In all the past elections, candidates used to seek votes by promising to build a concrete bridge at Jhulaghat. The same agenda is being discussed here in the upcoming elections as well.

The first border crossing in the Far West to India is Jhulaghat in Baitadi. According to locals, residents of the Far West and Karnali also used to travel to India through this crossing. There is a suspension bridge built over the Mahakali River during the British era in Jhulaghat. Despite being demanded for years, there is still no concrete bridge to allow vehicles to pass through. A large number of Indians come to Baitadi's religious shrines to worship every year. But they are forced to face transportation difficulties. That is why the residents of this place have been demanding the construction of a concrete bridge for decades. The residents of this area believe that the construction of a concrete bridge in Jhulaghat will improve the living standards of the people.

UML candidate Damodar Bhandari, who had promised to build a concrete bridge in Jhulaghat in every previous election, has also repeated the same promise. Bhandari won the election from Baitadi three times in a row. He became a minister twice. But the residents of this area complain that he has not been able to fulfill his promise of building a concrete bridge in Jhulaghat.

Congress candidate Chatur Bahadur Chand, who is in the election fray, said that building a concrete bridge in Jhulaghat would be his first priority if he wins. 'The reason why the concrete bridge could not be built in Jhulaghat is because the representatives who won the election by making promises in the past did not take the initiative,' says Chand. 'I will work in a way that will bring results in the construction of the bridge.'

NCP candidate Parmanand Bhatta also says that a concrete bridge in Jhulaghat is essential for the development of Baitadi and Bajhang. ‘Building this bridge is our main priority in our diplomatic initiative with India,’ he said. RSP candidate Harimohan Bhandari, on the other hand, says that their main priority is to maintain good governance in the country, end injustice and corruption. ‘A concrete bridge is necessary in Jhulaghat.’ But we cannot assure the people that we will build it immediately,’ he said. ‘We cannot collect votes by giving false slogans to the people.’

It is not just the leaders who were elected as people’s representatives from Baitadi, in the past, all the top leaders of the major parties, Congress, UML and Maoists, had promised to build a concrete bridge in Jhulaghat. During the 2079 election meeting, UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli had promised to build a concrete bridge in Jhulaghat in Patan, Baitadi. ‘Jhulaghat will no longer be a mere bridge, in the future a concrete bridge will be built in Jhulaghat,’ UML Chairman Oli had said, ‘UML will take that responsibility, I will take it.’

The then Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had also reached Baitadi and made a commitment to build a concrete bridge in Jhulaghat. He had also said in a meeting held in Baitadi, ‘You know the initiative I have taken to build a concrete bridge in Jhulaghat. The bridge will be built.’

Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, speaking at an election meeting held in Baitadi, had also said that a motorable bridge was necessary in Jhulaghat for the development of this area. But despite all the top leaders promising, locals say that there has been no progress in building the bridge so far. ‘We submitted a memorandum to the then Prime Minister Prachanda, KP Sharma Oli and Sher Bahadur Deuba. We took a risk and submitted a memorandum to former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai in the middle of the dilapidated bridge,' says Bhatta, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 'We heard that the Indian Prime Minister also announced the construction of the bridge through a press conference, but there is no decision on the construction of the bridge.'

In 2080 Jestha, during the visit of the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to India, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at a joint press conference in New Delhi that a motorable bridge would be built at the Jhulaghat border crossing.

In the past, the residents of Baitadi had sat on a relay hunger strike for 17 days continuously demanding the construction of a concrete bridge at the Jhulaghat border crossing. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry had coordinated the relay hunger strike. At that time, Baitadi people's representatives and leaders of various parties had assured that they would take the initiative to build a concrete bridge at Jhulaghat.