By Lokendra Prasad Joshi, Darchula, May 21: Byasi Sauka Community of Changru and Tinker village of Byas Rural Municipality-1 in the district returned to their villages today after a month long effort to go back to their homes.

As the bridge over a river at the Nepal-India border was opened on Thursday, Sauka Community people who had descended to district headquarters to escape biting cold in winter up in their home village were able to return to Kuncha, along with their children and cattle.

Due to the absence of roadways to return to their village from Darchula headquarters and the bridge being closed for lockdown, the Sauka people along with their cattle, were left stranded at Khalanga. The businessmen of the community had been requesting the government continuously for a month to make arrangement for their return to Kuncha, their home village.

They had shifted to Khalanga in November to stay unbothered from cold weather. Due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown and sealing of international border between Nepal and India, they were unable to return to their villages. And they have to use the road that passes through Indian territory to reach their homes because the track to their village from the district headquarters built during Panchayat era has damaged due to negligence of the authority to repair and make it usable.

In coordination of Darchula District Administration Office (DAO) with the Indian authority, the bridge at the border was opened. 175 families, including 110 families of Chhangru and 65 families of Tinker, returned to their villages via the bridge, using road of India.

Due to absence of road in Nepal's side, the residents of Changru and Tinker jointly shifted to Kuncha by using Indian land, said Nagendra Tinkari, a local.

The Sauka Community reach their villages by walking for five days via Dharchula of India. As the roadway of Nepal, constructed during Panchayat period has not been repaired until now, the Tinker residents have been compelled to use Indian road for travelling for the last two decades.

The locals said that as they were not able to reach village in time during peak farming season, all of the crops grown during winter had rotten.

The border area has been deserted since six months as all of Tinker and Chhangru locals had shifted to Khalanga.

After construction of roadways, the Sauka people will be able to reach their village in four hours, which otherwise takes five days via Indian road.

The community returned to their village with approval of migration from local administration of Nepal and India, informed Tek Singh Kunwar, assistant CDO of Darchula district.

Currently, a pathway leading to Byas Rural Municipality-1, Dumli from Budi of ward no. 2 has remained damaged at many places.

The locals have been complaining that they had to face misbehavior and various difficulties from Indian side due to lack of roadway in their own country.

Meanwhile, the government has started preparation to let Nepali Army (NA) to reconstruct the damaged pathway up to Tinker.

The government has already decided to give the responsibility to NA to construct Darchula-Tinker road.

Until now, only 40 km track leading to Tinker road has been opened although the construction started in 2065 BS.