SURKHET, Aug 10: Hima Budha, a health worker working at Pulu Health Post in Mugu Karmarong Rural Municipality, reached the Mugu Airport on Wednesday to visit Nepalgunj for treatment. Budha, who reached the airport in two days, is unsure about when she will reach Nepalgunj.

She is seven months pregnant. Due to nasal polyps, fleshy swellings that develop in the lining of the nose, she is facing difficulty in breathing. “I came to the Mugu Airport to go to Nepalgunj to consult a doctor about the condition of the baby and to perform nose surgery” she said, “I have been at the airport for a week as the airplane hasn’t been operated.”

It takes up to three to four days to reach Nepalgunj from Mugu by road. “I am waiting to travel by airplane because labor pain and other complications can arise while traveling in a bus," she said, “I don’t know how many more days I will have to stay at the airport.”

Buda has also brought a 22-month-old malnourished child and his mother Tashi Lama along with her from the village. They have been stuck at the airport for five days despite paying for tickets. Due to the cold, the health condition of the malnourished child began to deteriorate. After seeing symptoms of pneumonia, Buda sent the child and his mother to Surkhet by road. “I have spoken to Karnali Province Hospital for treatment,” she said, “They have not yet reached the hospital because the road is damaged.”

Road travel in Karnali becomes dangerous with the onset of monsoon. Meanwhile, no airplane has arrived in Mugu for a week. According to health worker Buda, more than 30 to 35 patients are waiting for the  airplane. “The airport has started to fill up with patients,” she said, “The arrival of the plane has not yet been confirmed."

They are facing a problematic situation as the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) decided not to allow flights to the air service companies to be operated outside of the ‘operation hour’ on July 31.

During monsoons, the Mugu Airport is foggy till 10 AM. After that the weather in Mugu remains clear throughout the day. The operation hours of CAAN for Mugu Airport are only from 6:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Chief Roman Bhattarai of the Talcha Airport said the operation hours for Mugu are impractical.

He said that a decision should be made by CAAN only after studying the condition of the airports situated in different parts of Nepal. In earlier days, there were flights till 5 PM at Talcha Airport in Mugu.

Last year passengers had to pass through high time due to non-operation of flights to and from Dolpa, which is connected to the national road network. “The condition of the runway is not in good condition, even if the weather is good, the wind flows is high in the afternoon,” said Amit Chaurasiya, chief of the Dunai Airport, “Especially passengers who lack sound health and disabled have to face more problems.” He said that the patients who have booked flight tickets had been sent by ambulance.

The operation hours of Humla Airport, flights and helicopters can be flown from 6:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Currently, the airport does not open until 10:00 AM due to the rainy season. Due to this problem, flights at the Humla Airport have been very few and far between lately. On some days, there are no flights at all. Helicopters that transport food and people from villages have remained idle. According to Mahendra Singh, chief of Simikot Civil Aviation Office, only eight aircraft have landed since July 31.

According to Singh, the weather usually does not support until 10 AM during the rainy season. CAAN has imposed the same rule on helicopters along with airplanes. Humla headquarters Simkot and upper Humla did not have transport facilities, so the subsidized food grains, salt and other materials were transported by helicopters from Karnali Corridor. For this, the Simikot Airport has two helicopters of Fishtail and Mountain Air. However, CAAN’s decision has halted these helicopters from taking flight after 12:30 PM.

There are eight airports in the 10 districts of Karnali. Among them, the Suntharali Airport in Kalikot is not operational. Apart from the Surkhet Airport and the Humla Airport, the operation hours are allocated from February 1 to December 1 from 6:30 AM to 12:30 PM and December 2 to January 30 from 6:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

Chief of Surkhet Airport Rajan Raj Dhungel said that there was an instruction from the CAAN not to operate the flights outside of operation hours due to the high-speed winds in the afternoon. Due to changes in the weather in an unpredictable way, the risk of accidents is high.

“We have also stopped the chartered helicopters that came from Kathmandu to Humla,” he said, “Although this rule is good for air safety, it has become a matter of suffering for the citizens of Karnali.”

He said that since the weather in Karnali changes in an instant, it will be easier if different rules are made according to the airport located in different geographical areas. He said that due to the operation hours, the flights are not possible as before.

“Air services companies bring the letter of permission to operate flights from the CAAN, we just have to coordinate accordingly," he said, “Earlier, when the weather was clear, there were flights to the hilly districts throughout the day. According to the new rules of CAAN, we do not allow flights from Surkhet Airport after 12 PM.”

 
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