Manthali (Ramechhap), 26 December: The Puchighat bridge connecting Khandadevi Rural Municipality of Ramechhap and Sunkoshi Rural Municipality of Sindhuli was damaged by the flood in the Sunkoshi River on Asoj 2 (18 Sep). Since then, people have been forced to travel here by two boats, one plastic and one wooden.
Since most of the people of Puchighat have their farmlands in Chainpur in Sunakoshi Rural Municipality of Sindhuli, they use these boats to do agricultural work. Boat drivers, who have become a source of relief to the locals, complain that they have not received any relief from this. Boat driver Hira Bahadur Majhi, who is worried about how to earn a living after rowing boats all day but returning home empty-handed in the evening, has complained.
He says, “When I row boats all day, I have no income except for the Rs 20/50 that someone gives me for tea out of pity. The district administration has also said that we cannot take money, nor has any decision been made for our livelihood. How can we run our families in such a situation?”
These boats are operated in the river area about two kilometers above the Puchighat bridge. Another boat driver, Saite Majhi, also says that there is a problem as there is no decision on his remuneration. “After not getting any kind of service from anywhere, we have arranged to ferry boats in the village in shifts, but that is not very effective,” he said.
Indra Bahadur Shrestha, a local teacher, said that since the boat drivers do not have any service facilities from the state, children and teachers are having trouble going to school due to the lack of work at a specific time. He said, “The municipality or the disaster management committee of the district administration should solve the problem. The drivers should be paid a salary, otherwise arrangements should be made to collect a certain amount from the boatmen. Otherwise, the boats will be closed.”
Around 26 students and teachers of Khadandevi Rural Municipality-4 cross the Sunkoshi River by boat here to study and teach at Shree Dirgha Pradeep Secondary School in Khalte of Sunkoshi Rural Municipality, and more than fifty farmers cross the river daily. Local Binda Nepali said that the problem is arising due to the inability to satisfy the fishermen.
The fishermen, who are not local students, complained that they have to travel dangerously with untrained boat drivers or hang from a dilapidated suspension bridge located far away, facing additional risks. He said that they are forced to reach school late and be scolded by teachers when the boat driver does not come even after waiting for a long time.
Khandadevi Rural Municipality Chairman Gyan Kumar Shrestha said that although they are aware of the problem, the municipality has not been able to pay the drivers and repair the dilapidated bridge due to lack of budget for a solution. He informed that discussions have been taken forward to address the problems of the boat drivers.
As more than 200 people who commute from here daily are affected, the concerned bodies need to be aware of the problem, urges Narayan Karki, chairman of Khandadevi Rural Municipality-6. “We do not have the resources to solve the problem. The bodies that have the resources should focus on solving the immediate problems until the bridge is built,” he said.
