Mules start to disappear in Kalikot

By Premraj Simkhada,Kalikot, May 5: Mules, considered as dependable means of transportation in mountainous and hilly regions, are facing a gradual decline. 

Once hailed as “mountain trucks” for their role in transporting goods, mules have started vanishing with the expansion of roads to remote areas across the country. Today, in places like Kalikot, mules are nowhere to be found.

Udayaram Chaulagai from Raskot-2 purchased nine mules for transport services when the village lacked proper road infrastructure.

In the absence of road infrastructure in the village, the nine mules purchased by Chaulagai served as vital carriers, transporting essential items and various construction materials to 

the village.

This was particularly essential when the Karnali Corridor remained undeveloped. However, as road networks expanded, Chaulagai faced a difficult decision. Recently, with road facilities, Chaulagai sold the mules.

In 2015, the nine mules were generating a monthly income ranging from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 160,000. However, with the arrival of road infrastructure in the village, the same traders began transporting goods via vehicles, rendering the mules obsolete in the market. 

Alongside Chaulagai, other individuals including Tularaj Yogi of Raskot-2, Bargaraj Simkhada, and Gajjaab Bahadur Bam of Raskot-1 were also engaged in the mule business.

Now, instead of mules, people are continuing the transportation business by buying trucks, some are doing retail business and some are engaged in the furniture business.

Gajjaab Bahadur said that he has started a furniture business in the city after selling his mule.

He said he sold the mules for Rs. 90,000 to a person residing in Bajura. He is satisfied with the income generated from his furniture business.

Namraj Sanjyal of Sanni Triveni-6 recalled that around 1995, the Potmara small hydropower project in Kalikot was completed by transporting goods from Surkhet by mules.

Nowadays, mules stopped being seen in rural areas like Kalikot due to the availability of road services. Sanjyal, who works as a teacher, expressed that this development is pushing traditional practices into history, displacing the old ways of life.