Reduced flights affect Karnali residents

By Our Correspondent

Jumla, Oct. 19: The heavy rains that fell earlier this year caused floods and landslides in many places in Karnali Province. The Karnali Highway is also blocked. 

At this time, air travel would have helped a lot to connect Jumla with the rest of the country and bring in much-needed materials and supplies.

However, it was at this time that airliners cut flights to the district. This has caused great trouble to the people of Karnali Province. 

In this context, a delegation from the province including former Minister Naresh Bhandari recently came to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and submitted a memorandum to Minister Jeevan Ram Shrestha.

The memo details the plight of the people of Jumla, Kalikot, Mugu and Humla and reminds the minister that these districts have been disaster-hit areas. 

“In such a critical time when the roads are blocked and the citizens have nowhere to turn to, the airlines have decided not to fly to Karnali and instead go to other destinations that bring them dollars,” it states.

“Even the flights that are taking place are too expensive. 

The prices are fixed arbitrarily and have been priced out of the reach of average passengers,” the memorandum says.

The team alleged that Karnali has been blockaded and  has asked the ministry to coordinate with private airliners to find a long-term solution to this problem.

Minister Shrestha responded positively to the request.