DARCHULA, Sept 4: Local residents of Chhangru and Tinker villages in Byas rural municipality ward no 1 in Darchula district have been facing severe hardships for the last three weeks due to obstruction in travel and communication services.
Both the villages, located at an altitude of approximately 3,200 metres above the sea level and within the distance of 10 km share borders with India and China.
Normal lives of the local residents have become acutely difficult after a rain-triggered landslide in Chhangru on August 13 washed away the foot trail in multiple sections of the path and disrupted communication services in both villages.
In lack of foot trails and paths, locals in both villages are left to rely on nearby Indian passes for access to each other's villages.
Tinker folks usually migrate to lowlands in November-December to escape the biting cold. However, with no safe and reliable pathway available, locals are worried how they will migrate this fall, mentioned Binod Singh Budhathoki, secretary of ward no 1.
Budhathoki further raised the concern that the damaged foot trails have made it increasingly difficult to transport food supplies to the village.
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"Locals are currently feeding on the existing old stock of food items. If the condition of the road remains the same, there is likely to be a food crisis in the locality," panicked Budhathoki.
Ruling out the prospect of receiving a budget immediately for the road repair from any sector, he cautioned that if the road is not maintained on time, not only local residents but also security personnel would face serious difficulties in travelling.
"If anyone here falls ill, there is no way out to take them to the nearest healthcare facilities," he said anxiously.
Astik Tinkari, a local resident, lamented that Tinkar village has been left without telephone services for the last three weeks.
He said that the locals like him are compelled to use security personnel's communication equipment just to send messages to their relatives.
Another local resident Birendra Tinkari highlighted the woes facing Tinker folks and said that although the Nepal Telecom service at Chhangru is functional at the moment, residents of Tinker are entirely without communication access.
There are 70 households in Tinkar. The local residents had migrated to Kuncha last May-June.
The Armed Police Force's BOP and Nepal Police are stationed at Chhiyalek.
Binod Singh Kunwar, vice-chairperson of ward no 1, said that there is an urgent need for budget allocation to restore roads in Tinker.
"We need to transport food for locals and security personnel through roads within Nepal's territory, not via India. We need a proper road on our own land," Kunwar emphasized.
He expressed frustration that leaders raise the border issue time and again while ignoring the basic needs of the citizens.
Likewise, tourism activist Himalaya Bhatta highlighted the need for accelerating the infrastructure development in Chhangru and Tinker villages to practically reinforce Nepal's claim over the territory stretching from the Om Parbat to Limpiyadhura.
He argued that when development works gain momentum, then it would make Nepal's presence on the ground visible thereby substantiating Nepal's ownership over those territories.
Similarly, Ashok Singh Bohora, chairperson of ward no 1, said that temporary wooden bridges have been built over the Nampa River and Tinker River to facilitate movements for people in Chhangru and Tinkar at present.
While some sections of the flood-damaged foot trails have been reopened, he noted that the routes are not suitable for the transportation of livestock.
