APO in Limi resumes operation after long gap

By Rajan Rawat

Humla, May 25: The Area Police Office in Sunkhani, a village beyond the Himalayas in Namkha Rural Municipality-6, Limi, has resumed operation after a long time. 

The police post, which had been closed for months, has been reopened following the clearance of snow on the 5,000-metre-high Nyaluk Pass, making the road to Limi accessible again.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shankar Pokharel said that the Area Police Office, established in Sunkhani of Limi, which had been closed since December, has now been brought back into operation.

In winter, the post was closed and the police returned to the district headquarters in Simkot due to extreme cold, challenges in managing food and water supplies and the lack of any reported incidents.

Now that the Nyaluk Pass is open and people have started traveling again, especially with the start of the season when both domestic and international tourists visit Lapcha on their pilgrimage to Mansarovar and Kailash, the police post has been resumed. DSP Pokharel himself went with the police team to reopen the post.

He informed that four foot of snow that accumulated on Nyaluk Pass was cleared over 11 days by the Infrastructure Development Office, which enabled the reopening of the road and made the resumption of the police office possible. 

DSP Pokharel, who led a team of 23 officers to Limi, said that 11 officers will be stationed at the office under the leadership of an Assistant Sub-Inspector, which will help strengthen border security.

He added that with the resumption of movement  in the area, it has become easier to control illegal hunting, provide border security and respond to any incidents.

Previously, due to the absence of a local office, police had to travel eight hours from the Hill Police Office to respond to a landslide that occurred on May 14, 2024, in Til village of Limi. 

If the Sunkhani post had been operational, the police could have reached the site in just four hours.