Local representatives of Jajarkot share their four-month experience

JAJARKOT, Aug 31: Mahendra Bahadur Shah was elected the chairman of Barkot Rural Municipality of Jajarkot district in the first phase of local elections on May 14. Before the elections, he had rigorously campaigned for bringing all rights of the district headquarters and Singha Durbar to the local level. However, after four months of being elected, he is now realizing a bitter reality - he may have promised something he can never deliver. 

Shah said that the locals have already started complaining about his failure to bring the rights of the district headquarters to the local level. He acknowledged his failure and said, “I could not deliver my promise due to the lack of workers, access to technology and transportation as well as our difficult topography.”

“I have my plans for the development of the rural municipality. However, I couldn't bring about any unique experience due to the lack of banking service, workers and means of communication,” Shah said. “How can we bring Singha Durbar to the village when we have to visit the district headquarters Khalanga for every work?” he further added.

Not just Shah, Krishna Bahadur KC, chairman of Junichade Rural Municipality, too, shared that he has not been able to fulfill the people's wishes to bring Singha Durbar to the local level. “Although local representatives are playing very constructive roles in speeding up development works such as improvements in education and health sectors, they have not been able to fulfill their promise to bring the facilities of the district headquarters and Singha Durbar to the village,” he said.

According to him, he has given priority to road construction so that it could help children to regularly go to school and also increase access to health facilities. However, he maintained that they have not been able to bring the rights of the center and distridct headquarters to the local level due to various factors, especially lack of enough workers. 

Likewise, Bheri Municipality Chief Chandra Prakash Gharti shared how difficult it is for him to deliver his promises. “The past four months have been spent for planning and monitoring development works in our local unit,” he said. “But tackling irregularities and fraudulent activities is tough. We haven't achieved the desired results,” he added.