DOLPA, May 6: The absence of officials in Tripurasundari Municipality has not only affected the day to day work but has also greatly disappointed the service seekers.
A team of officials including Mayor Om Bahadur Budha, Chief Administrative Officer Bhim Bahadur Dharala and Accountant Padam Prasad Khanal have been out of the district for a long time citing various reasons. On April 20, they had gone to Surkhet, the capital of Karnali province to attend three-day training. They have not returned since then. This has compelled a large number of officials from various consumer committees and other government bodies visiting the municipality office to return empty handed.
Likewise, Chandra Prasad Budhthapa, a non-gazetted officer of the municipality and another accountant Padam Prasad Khanal went out of the district many days ago to buy a dozer but they are yet to return. So, signing and forwarding recommendation is the only work that the municipality is doing at the moment. In lack of guidance, other officials too are compelled to return home doing nothing. According to Jaya Shankar Dhital, a non-gazetted officer, lower level officials of the municipality have no option other than waiting for the executive officers to come back.
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There are altogether 51 staffers in Tripurasundari Municipality but not many are found attending the office regularly. Apart from the office helpers of 11 wards and few officials of Agriculture and Livestock Office, the attendance of other staffers is very low.
Likewise, there are many wards that have been operating in the absence of secretaries. This has left the locals struggling for services. It has been 15 days that Mitra Lal Bohora has been making rounds of the Municipality office for urging the chief official to sanction budget for Khadikhola Hydroelectricity Project. "Receiving the services of Singha Durbar is still a far-fetched dream," he laments.
Though Tripurasundari is considered one of the most well-facilitated local unit of Dolpa, it is struggling to manage and coordinate the staffers. During a recent interaction with the stakeholders, most locals lamented that the absence of officials has been a major problem for them.
