Many people think the district is part of the capital and is well-developed. But the 45-year-old farmer said Pulchowk and Kupandol are not the only places in Lalitpur, and the realities of southern areas of the district are far different. [break]
Some villages in the south are so much backward that they can be compared to the remote VDCs of Humla and Jumla.
"Life in my village and several other VDCs resembles that of medieval era," he said, adding that people of his village are still being deprived of basic amenities. "We still lack proper roads, electricity and drinking water supply, communication and others."
Bajgain said that people of his village have to walk one hour to fetch water. Due to irregular transport services, prices of commodities are 30 percent high in the villages. Students walk up to three hours to reach a high school. The bus service, which was resumed in Dashain, has been disrupted again due to blockages caused by rainfall. Due to lack of bridge over the Khanikhola River and deplorable condition of roads, vehicles operate just for six months in the area.
Farmers of the locality cannot bring their produce to the market as using porters to transport them is very costly. Bajgain makes khuwa from the milk produced at his home and sells it at just Rs 80 per kilo in the village, which costs over Rs 300 in Kathmandu. Five liters of pure buffalo milk is needed to make one kilogram of Khuwa. "We don´t get a fair return by selling khuwa," he complained, adding, "If we have regular transport facility, we could get proper price for our products."
Farmers pay Rs 60 per kg to porters who bring their goods to Bhattedanda, from where they can get vehicles for Kathmandu. Last year, farmers of the area were compelled to sell ginger at just Rs 10 per kg, which generally costs over Rs 300 per kg in the capital.
Krishna Bajgain, a teacher at Shree Narayani Higher Secondary School in Gimdi VDC said that NTC and Ncell´s networks do not work in his VDC. "People do not buy mobile phones because of the lack of electricity to charge the phones," he said. Some people, who have mobile, have to go the next VDC to get their mobiles charged. The village residents cannot watch television due to lack of power. Children cannot study at night. He said that a significant number of people of his VDC have not visited the capital. Unemployment is so high that most of the youths of the villages are in India, the Gulf and Malaysia for employment.
Karunananda Ghimire, a teacher of Shree Mahendra Higher Secondary School at Thuladurlung, said that leaders of major political parties like UCPN (Maoist), CPN-UML, Nepali Congress (NC), Rastrya Prajatantra Party-Nepal and others are busy opening parcel of hollow assurances like before. "No leader of the constituency has said no to any of our demands. Nevertheless, we know that such promises are rarely kept," he said.
In the previous election, the constituency elected Barshaman Pun, who later became finance minister. "Instead of taking any initiative to construct roads, he preferred to charter helicopter to visit the remote areas, and now he has fled from the constituency," Durga Ghimire, a local of Pyutar VDC, said.
Uday Shamsher Rana, Nepali Congress
Candidates of major parties, who are in election race from the constituency, said that they are sensitive towards the problems of the locals. "People of this constituency have been desperately waiting for developments and we are fully committed to their concerns," said Madhusudhan Poudel, CPN-UML candidate. He said that he would accelerate the electrification in the area through cooperatives started by his party if he wins the election. He said that youth employment, agricultural cooperatives, roads, irrigation are the other agendas of his party. [break]
Madhusudan Poudel, CPN-UML
Likewise, Hari Dahal, UCPN (Maoist) candidate, said that he is well aware about local problems and is committed to resolve them. Uday Samsher Rana, NC candidate, said that he too has various development packages for the areas. "Problems of remote VDCs are different from developed VDCs and different approach is needed address them. I have a master plan," he claimed. He lost the previous assembly election by a nominal margin.
Hari Dahal, UCPN-Maoist
Similarly, Keshar Bahadur Bista, a veteran royalist and an ex-minister is also a strong contender from Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal in the constituency. He is quite familiar with the people of the constituency. Bista, who was elected several times from the district during the panchayat era, claimed that all the developments works of the district happened during his tenure. "From primary school to college, drinking water to roads, all are the results of my sweat and labor," he claimed. He said that he has been working to revive disconnected ties with people. He said that he is well aware about aspirations of locals and has been doing his best to resolve them as far as possible.
Keshar Bahadur Bista, RPP-N
The constituency, which covers 90 percent geography of the district, is one of the least developed areas across the nation and has 55,116 voters.
The 28 VDCs in the constituency are: Bhattedanda, Dahachowk, Ghusel, Lele, Malta, Nallu, Pyutar, Bhardaha, Bukhel and Chaughare. Likewise, Ekudole, Manikhel, Sankhu, Ashrang,, Chandanpur, gimdi, Gotikhel, Kaleshwor, Thuladurlung, Dukuchap, Champi, Chapagaun, Badikhel, Jhuruarashi, Godawari, Godamchaur, Bisankhunarayan and Devichaur.
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