Humla Gets Closer

The completion of the construction of a Bailey bridge over Karnali River in Kharpunath Rural Municipality of Humla district has generated multiple hopes. The district, which is labeled as remote and outlying, is now connected with the national road network, a basic infrastructure for development, progress and prosperity. This opens the door for all possibilities for this district to join the mainstream development path.

The connection of Humla district with the national road network is itself a historic achievement in the area of infrastructure development. Media reports state that the people of the district are celebrating this milestone achievement as the translation of their dreams into reality. The vital connectivity will have multiple benefits in the lives of the people. It opens people's income generation opportunities and provides market access to sell their unique products. 

Districts in the Karnali region are generally assumed to be poor and backward. This is far from true. Karnali Province, though far-flung from the centre, is blessed with potential in tourism, apple cultivation, livestock farming and collection of rare Himalayan medicinal herbs. Agro products grown in Humla and other neighbouring districts have higher quality due to special conditions. With a road network and access to the market, hard-working people here can earn a good income from their products. 

Addressing a function held the other day to inaugurate the crucial Bailey bridge in Kharpunath, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said that a region being labeled as neglected and left behind is now finally linked with the rest of the country through the national highway system. The Prime Minister called the opening of this bridge a landmark because it has larger and wider prospects of connecting Nepal’s economically powerful neighbours, India and China. This connectivity is also vital to bolster the capacity of the Karnali Corridor that forms the lifeline of development in the province.

There is great potential for developing the Karnali Corridor as a major trade route between Nepal’s southern and northern neighbours. Such an economic corridor delivers benefits in multiple ways to the local people. When the route is busy with the activities of tourists, pilgrims and traders, it naturally leads to the opening of hotels, restaurants, tea shops, resorts and lodges along the way. A business that looks dismal with possibility now can flourish after a decade. Possibilities are limited only when there is no infrastructure and connectivity. 

The Bailey bridge now connects Humla district headquarters with the Karnali corridor, 26 years after the works on the road network began. It is in this sense that this infrastructure has been seen as historic. Karnali Corridor is one of the north-south corridors that has big trade significance. When India and China go for greater trade links, these routes can play a crucial role in connectivity. Thus, Karnali Corridor has far-reaching possibilities for building trans-national connectivity.      

Kharpunath Rural Municipality Chairperson Karna Bahadur Rawal expressed the delight that the new access would make it easier to bring in construction materials and support in income-generating activities for the local people. He made a call to the service providers and farmers to engage in local crop and fruit production, while expressing a hope that the road will be upgraded to a two-lane blacktop one.