Bajura receives snowfall, farmers elated

By Sher Bahadur Sarki,Bajura, Jan. 18: Bajura has again received snowfall. Since Thursday the extreme cold has severely impacted the locals, after heavy snowfall in the high-altitude areas of the Himalayan region.

Janpura BK of Budhinanda Municipality-7, Serkatiya, reported that snowfall began around 7 am, resulting in a significant rise in cold temperature. She said, “The snowfall in high-altitude areas like Badimalika, Budhinanda, Jagannath, Himali and Swamikartik has affected normal life.”

With the snowfall since Thursday morning, children and the elderly are struggling to venture outside due to the biting cold. Winter months in Bajura are typically cold, but the recent snowfall has further intensified the situation, affecting the daily life of the locals.

Since late November last year, Bajura has been experiencing severe cold, with snowfall beginning on December 8. The freezing conditions have posed significant challenges for children and the elderly, particularly in the affected areas.

Frequent snowfall has also created problems for the locals to graze their livestock, including cows, buffaloes and sheep. It has become difficult for farmers to graze their animals in the pastures blanketed in snow. 

The winter crops in the district are significantly hindered by the lack of adequate irrigation infrastructures. The scarcity of water leads to the drying up of crops like wheat and barley. However, this is the fourth instance of snowfall this season, following snowfalls on December 2, December 9, December 23 last year and January 16. While the snowfall has disrupted daily life, it has provided much-needed relief for agricultural activities.

Farmers are excited because the timely snowfall has rejuvenated their drying wheat and barley crops, raising hopes for a good harvest. According to Dashiram Sahani, the Chief of the Agricultural Knowledge Centre in Bajura, the district has 230,037 hectares of land, of which 22,000 hectares of land is arable and only 5,235 hectares of land has access to year-round irrigation.