Parbat, 22 January: An orange festival has been organized in the remote village of Bansakharka here to attract the government’s attention for the construction of a road leading to the village. The festival was organized in the village after problems arose in transporting oranges from Jaljala Rural Municipality-1, Bansakharka, which produces the tastiest and most indigenous variety of oranges in Nepal. The one-day orange festival began on Magh 11(24 January).
Jag Bahadur Roka, Ward Chairman of Jaljala-1 Bansakharka, said that the festival was organized to create constructive pressure for road upgrading. According to him, the main objective of the festival is to show the poor condition of the roads by involving Gandaki Province Government Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey, ministers, parliamentarians and political party leaders.
Although oranges worth about Rs 150 million are produced annually, the villagers have come up with this solution after facing problems transporting them to the market. The failure to upgrade the Baribeni-Bagarphant-Baansakharka road connecting Bansakharka has caused problems for vehicles to reach the village. Leading farmer Jagat Bahadur Khatri informed that entrepreneurs are facing problems in transporting oranges as large vehicles cannot reach the orange orchards. He expects to earn Rs 4 million from selling oranges this year alone. He complains that there is a problem in transportation due to the poor road conditions.
He said, “We are forced to pick a few oranges in small Bolero jeeps, take them to the Beni-Maldhunga road, and load them into large trucks, which increases transportation costs and time.” Due to the road, oranges are crushed and rotted when they are transported to the village.
The oranges here, which are prepared late, are sent to the market only after the second week of Magh. Although the rural municipality had repaired the road during the transportation period last year, another farmer, Mekh Bahadur Khatri, said that vehicles could not be driven on the road due to floods and landslides during the rainy season. The problem has arisen because no body has shown interest in repairing the road here.
The provincial government and the political leadership of the region will be sent to the villages to inform them about the poor condition of the roads and to conduct a festival in the orchard to upgrade and blacktop the roads. The organizers are preparing to present orange farming demonstrations and various orange dishes and flavors to visitors at the festival.
Currently, even though the dirt road from Baribeni and Milanchowk has been opened to reach Bansakharka, it is still necessary to travel for hours in small vehicles. Due to the dilapidated road, large trucks and tippers cannot reach the village. Farmer Khatri complained that entrepreneurs are facing problems in exporting oranges as only small Bolero jeeps can reach the village with difficulty.
Ramesh Dhungel, a businessman from Kalimati, Kathmandu, who came to the orchard to buy oranges, said that it would be easier for him if they could transport them in large trucks and containers at once. “The state should also build infrastructure for the convenience of such a large orange orchard,” he said. The businessman complains that it takes about an hour and a half to cover the distance of about 10 kilometers.
Stating that oranges from Bansakharka are fetching good prices in Gandaki Province and abroad, Rural Municipality Chairman Raju Acharya said that the rural municipality has organized the festival to promote and export the oranges after branding them and also to improve the road leading to the orchard. He said that the farmers here had earned Rs 110 million last year, and now, as both the area and production have increased, it is estimated that they will earn up to Rs 150 million.
Farmers said that most of the oranges from Bansakharka reach Kathmandu, while some are sold in Pokhara, Narayangadh and Butwal. Traders have already booked the oranges here. Farmer Som Bahadur Tilija said that they come here to pick oranges only after the season is over elsewhere.
250 households here have abandoned grain crops and taken up commercial orange farming. Each family has been earning a minimum income of Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 400,000.
