Transportation service enhances lifestyles of Karnali locals

By Sher Bahadur Sarki,Bajura, Mar. 16: Swamikartik Khapar Rural Municipality, located in the northeastern part of Bajura, lies around 50 kilometres away from the district headquarters, Martadi. 

In the past, locals relied on sheep or porters to transport essential items and the journey from Safebagar to Swamikartik Khapar took nearly a week. Those who raised sheep would use them to transport goods, while others would carry items like salt, rice and oil on their backs. Due to the lack of roads, locally produced fruits and vegetables hardly found the market. 

However, since 2022, the lifestyle of the locals has changed significantly. The rural municipality has been actively connecting most villages with roads. Since the introduction of a ferry service across the Karnali River for vehicle transport, the lifestyle of locals has drastically improved. Now all villages have road access which has significantly curtailed travel time.

Likewise, locals who previously relied on river water now have access to clean tap water. With the rural municipality expediting road construction in recent years, transporting essential items has become much easier.

“In the past, without road access, we used to feed apples to cattle,” said Dhan Bahadur Rawal from Joru, of Swamikartik Khapar Rural Municipality-1. “Now that roads have reached the villages, we can sell apples to support our families. Organic produce from here is now reaching various cities across the country,” he added.

Rawal said that locals who previously depended on labour work are now engaged in apple and vegetable farming. Swamikartik Khapar is the largest apple-producing area in Bajura, known for producing high-quality apples. Agricultural technicians say the region is highly suitable for apple cultivation.

In the past, due to the lack of roads, locals would feed their harvested apples to cattle as they could neither carry them to the market nor sell them. Since 2023, however, apples from the area have started reaching different cities across the country, with locals now earning millions annually from apple sales.

Traders now visit the apple orchards directly to purchase the produce, saving locals from the burden of carrying their apples to market. 

According to Binod Shahi, head of the Agriculture Division of Swamikartik Khapar Rural Municipality, apple sales exceeded Rs. 12 million last year alone. “Since roads have reached the villages and traders are coming directly to buy apples, most local farmers are now involved in apple farming,” Shahi said.

To improve the economic conditions of locals, the rural municipality has recently been encouraging residents to engage in fruit cultivation. 

According to Bharat Bahadur Rokaya, Chairperson of the rural municipality, they have been working to improve education, healthcare, roads and drinking water facilities to transform the lifestyle of the locals.

“Between 2022 and 2023, we extended road access to most villages,” Rokaya said. “Since there was no permanent bridge over the Karnali River, it was difficult to operate vehicles on these roads. However, by introducing a ferry service on the Karnali River in recent years, vehicles are now running in all villages, significantly improving the lifestyle of locals.”