Valley of 52 lakes and 53 hills, now occupied by settlements

By Jayaman Budha Magar

Rukum East, Oct. 15: Rukumkot Valley, in Sisne Rural Municipality, Rukum East district, is surrounded by large hills. Because of the belief that the valley consists of 52 lakes and 53 hills, the area is also known as Bahunna Pokhari, Tripanna Takuri.

But now, lakes and hills are nowhere to be seen. The lands in the hills have been encroached to pave the way for settlement and the ponds for arable lands.

When Rukum separated from Salyan and became a different district in 1962, Rukumkot area was named ‘52 Pokhari, 53 Takuri’. The encroachment started in 1995 when the process to provide land ownership certificate was underway. Several cunning individuals had then encroached the land of hills and lakes after which the wrongdoing only expanded.

“Since many land plots of lakes and hills are registered in individuals’ names, it is difficult to solve the issue at the earliest even by the government. It is a challenge, but we plan to conserve our heritage,” said Krishna Regmi, chairman of Sisne Rural Municipality.

According to Regmi, Sisne Rural Municipality plans to implement a 20-year master plan to conserve the area and develop the Rukumkot Valley as a major tourism destination. Since the land ownership under individual names pose a challenge and it is difficult to reclaim the lands, Regmi informed that Rukumkot was being developed as a new city under the ‘10 new city development programme’ of the federal government.

Regmi also stressed that the growth in population and urbanisation has further increased the risk of encroachment in the area. “Earlier lakes are now fields and green hills have turned into settlements. The then 52 Pokhari, 53 Takuri is losing its historical value,” said 87-year-old Chudamani Gautam of Ward No. 6 of Sisne.

Gautam was the one who identified all the 52 lakes and 53 hills and registered them in written form.

“I had heard from my elders that Rukumgad River flowed through the Rukumkot Valley during the old times. The river had formed 52 lakes and 53 hills in the valley. I did the work of collecting the names and details of these lakes and hills,” added Gautam.

Among the 52 lakes, only Kamaldaha and Chhipridaha are visible properly. In other 50 lakes, there are only fields with crops or vegetables. In all 53 hills, there are settlements, which are growing.

“The history of this place is about to disappear now. Nobody showed interest in preserving the lakes and hills earlier due to which it is in such a situation now,” said local Basanta Kumar Shrestha.

“There is not even a board to inform the names of the hills and lakes in the area. It would at least allow visitors to know them,” Shrestha added.