Economic prosperity main goal: Mayor Mandal

More than focusing on my experience, we have been dedicated to providing services and developing infrastructure to give a sense of local governance. Since the municipality has good potential in agriculture, animal husbandry and tourism, we have prioritised agricultural production and tourism promotion. We have ensured road access in all wards, constructed irrigation systems and school buildings. Our goal is to achieve economic prosperity and social transformation. We have worked to preserve our unique art and culture, protect natural resources, promote businesses and provide citizen-friendly services. The people recognised my work during my first term and gave me this opportunity for the second time.

The land here is suitable for farming. We have implemented incentive programmes to increase production, providing subsidies, training, fertilizer, seeds and expanding irrigation facilities. We have arranged small tube wells, wells and deep boring for irrigation and provided irrigation motors and pumping sets to farmers on subsidy. Electrification has been carried out in the fields for irrigation. Some wards have even paid the electricity bills for irrigation meters for farmers. We plan to increase the production of vegetables and fruits. A cold storage facility is being constructed with the municipality's investment.

We considered it and stepped back due to the potential misuse if managed directly by the municipality. This issue was also discussed in the executive meeting. It is easier to monitor such work when done by the wards. Therefore, we felt it is better for the wards to allocate some budget and pay the irrigation electricity bills for farmers. If the wards cannot pay, we plan to cover it from the municipality.

Although physical infrastructure, monitoring and school management have been improved, quality of teaching has not been improved yet. The issues that existed when I was first elected in 2017 are still present today. The number of teachers in proportion to students is insufficient in schools. The federal and provincial governments have not been able to recruit enough teachers. There are many vacant positions in schools and some schools are operating by hiring teachers from private schools. I have repeatedly advocated for better teacher management, an authority to create vacancy should be given to the municipality. 

We have a municipal hospital in Dhanushdham. Another 15-bed hospital is under construction and basic health care centres have been established in every ward. According to the federal government's health policy, there should be a health post within a 30-minute distance from every home. We have ensured this environment. Previously, vaccination services were available only at a central location in each ward. Now, we have made vaccination services available in every community. We have even purchased medicines that are not listed by the government and provided to the people. Additionally, a snakebite treatment centre has been established in Bhiman with the municipality's investment. Since it was established last year, 137 people have received treatment from this centre. In the current fiscal year, we are preparing to provide an ambulance for the convenience of snakebite patients.

One of the foundations for the prosperity of Dhanushdham Municipality is religious tourism. Every year, millions of devotees visit the Dhanushdham Temple. We are working on beautification of the temple site and also making it tourist-friendly for which the federal government has allocated Rs. 4.5 million in the current fiscal year. Plans are underway to emphasize eco-tourism. We are working on the preservation and promotion of historical, archaeological sites and tourist areas. Efforts are being made to beautify the religiously significant Dhanush Sagar and Banganga Sarovar. We are coordinating with the Ministry of Tourism for the development of the tourism sector. However, the provincial government has not supported Dhanushdham. This is my second term, and it has been seven years as mayor. We have not received any grants from the provincial government for the development of Dhanushdham, which is connected to the tourism sector.