Contrary to this bleakness, Bajura regional is also full of potentials.
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"How do you go to Bajura?" asked a friend.
"I take a night bus from Kathmandu to Dhangadi. From there take another night bus to Betalmandu and from there I either have to catch up a ride in a local jeep or walk for four to five hours to reach Martadi, the headquarter of Bajura," I explained. "It's lots less hassles to reach New York from Kathmandu than reaching Bajura," I added.
Indeed, the geography of this hinterland is quite vast but the demography is sparse, mostly poor, merely educated. Deeply conservative and with chronic superstitions, and spared basic human facilities, the daily lives of the people here is perilous. Customs like Chhaupadi, where women having periods are kept in the cowshed, child marriage, and the custom of untouchability are widely prevalent. According to records, in 2014, more than half of the marriages held in Bajura were child marriages.
Similarly, public health, which can be considered as the fundamental pillar of social development, is in disarray. Mostly, medical treatment is the last resort for sick people. Blood transfusion, family planning and birth at health centers are still social taboos. Time and again, a simple curable disease like diarrhea turns into an epidemic and causes mass fatalities. Foreign employment, being the source of meager income, is also a courier of deadliest diseases like HIV/AIDS. Officially, the number infected in the district is around seventy, but unofficially, the stake is soaring.
The situation in education is no different. The number of dropouts from high school and college is very high.
"To make students attend their classes regularly is always a great challenge," says the chief of Bajura Campus at Martadi. "Most students come to admit themselves and vanish for the entire year, only to reappear for their board exams" he added. Getting quality education in this remote land is also a distant dream.
Food shortage is another issue in this region. Only 4.4% families can afford food for the entire year. More than 35% merely have resources to feed themselves for a quarter of year. For the rest of the period, they are dependent on the ration distributed by the government at subsidized rate. Out of 24 Village Development Committees (VDC), eleven endure dire draught throughout the year. In the absence of irrigation and required facilities, the arable land hardly yields substantial harvest to the peasants.
However, contrary to this bleakness, the region is also full of potentials. In terms of natural resources, Bajura is among the richest districts of Nepal. The myriad availability of natural herbs, plants like Lokta (Daphne Bholua) and Allo (Girarinia Diversifolia), raw materials for garments, grow everywhere in jungles and brush lands, huge production of seasonal apples occurs in altitude areas and forests of olive trees abound in the district. But to one's dismay, till date, due to the lack of facilities like promotion, transportation and storage, the harvest hardly reach the markets.
This hinterland also has a lot prospective in terms of tourism. Its natural serene beauty, northern Himalaya, the Khaptad National Park, historical and religious shrines like Badimalika and most importantly the trekking route leading to Rara along the bank of River Karnali wait for exploration.
But, unfortunately, in the absence of appropriate prospects, the potentials are wasting. Poor people are compelled to pursue their ill-fated hardship without any option. And most remarkably, this is not only the destiny of Bajura. The whole far western region is suffering from the same fate.
Experts say, to some extent, that the state's centralized mechanism is responsible for the doom, and the forthcoming federal system will bring solutions to the prevailing disparities. But federalism and decentralization of power and resources is not enough to cure these chronic and deeply rooted ills in the system since ages.
"Change should come in thinking of the people, especially in those who are govern the nation," says Kalche Damai, a Dalit leader. "We don't want access to temples, instead, we want access to opportunities," he added. "No one from outside will come and develop our Bajura for us. We ourselves have to do it, otherwise development will always be a fairytale for us, forever," he explained.
"There's not a single medical college in the whole far western region," says Bikash Rawal, studying in class nine at Martadi. "We have to go to Nepalgunj, Pokhara or Kathmandu to study medicine, which is hardly possible for a student like me," he lamented.
Even private sectors have treated this region as a secluded one. In the entire region of Bajura, only one branch each of Rastriya Banijya Bank and Agricultural Development Bank can be seen. Besides some IME (International Money Express) Remit counters, there's no presence of the private sector. It's surprising how public enterprises claiming to be the guardian of the poor, bearing slogans like "Halo to Hydro" (from plough to hydro) have neglected this rundown land.
Similarly, data reveals that, in comparison to other districts, representation of this district in states organs, other than security forces, is almost nil. Only a handful of people have secured jobs in fields like bureaucracy and judiciary.
"It's quite promising that within the last six months, Nepal Army has opened recruitment twice in Martadi," says Kalche. "Like the Army, other organizations too should bring their enrollment process to remote areas like this so that people like us can get opportunity," he added.
Decentralization of state authority, judicious distribution of resources, inclusiveness and equal opportunity for everyone are some solutions people believe that federalism will bring to them. But until and unless change in thinking, behaviors and attitude come, the torments and travails of the people living in deprived lands like Bajura will never end.
shrijan7malla@hotmail.c
