Elam-2 by-election: Phakphokthumka duh b

But there is a sad story here. Not only infrastructure like roads, water, electricity but also essential things like health and education are not available to the locals. For a reliable hospital, the common people have to make a long difficult journey of 100 kilometers that Damak descends or travels almost as long to reach the capital Ilam.

In the absence of a moving hospital The experience of Bagrelti, who died prematurely without receiving treatment, is fresh with the locals. Raghunath Mainali, a local, said, "The patient was taken to the hospital for treatment by being carried on a dolly for 15 kilometers and placed in the vehicle as the vehicle could not pass on the road."

The story of Phakphokthum Rural Municipality begins after the black paper of the Ilam-Ranke road turns left.

The condition of the Ranke-Ravi road is still interesting. Fakphokthum-6 Leila Fayal of Deurali says angrily, "There is no hope that this road will be built anymore, we have lost our love."

especially in the past this way was very good . The road was made by laying stones in 2045. In 2057-2058, the Ranke-Ravi bus used to ply, gathering dust. "The road has been left in a worse condition than before", Phuyal said, "Dust is a problem in winter, mud is a problem in rainy season."

4 years ago, the plan to expand the road of about 120 kilometers from Ranke-Ravi-Bhedetar came forward . An Indian company also took the construction contract . However, local hotelier Tulsa Phuyal said that the contractor company disappeared after the work was suspended.

"Now, places have been dug up and the guardrails have been demolished", Phuyal complained, "We are waiting for when the road will be built."

Since 2056, those who have come to this area as candidates have shared the promise of making a road 'within a year and a day'. However, another local Jit Bahadur Thapa is sad that the day has not come yet. "When the leaders are asking for votes, they are saying that they can do it today, now they can", Thapa shared his experience, "But, after winning the election, they keep forgetting the promise."

The squatter problem is also complicated in Phakphokthum-6 . About Darshan more houses are without supplies . They have been in pain for years hoping to get supplies. "I am giving supplies for the election of 2074", Phuyal said, "It has not been received yet."

After turning left from Deurali Chowk, the same pain of another road starts. Deurali-Phalate-Gajurmukhi about 26 and a half kilometers road is not different from Ranke-Ravi road . Some workers were seen making drains on the road. They have started working recently. It has been more than a decade since the construction of this road started. The last contract was signed in 2076. There was an agreement to complete the work in June 2079, but the construction company Roshan-Vishnu JV Kathmandu instead of completing the work on time, has abandoned it.

According to Prakash Pariyar, a young man from Phakphokthum 7 Ekatappa, there is immense potential for agricultural production in this municipality. However, due to the lack of fast roads, the produced agricultural products could not be delivered to the market. He says that the farmers can earn a lot of income if they can sell the produce from here to Ilam headquarter and Damak in Jhapa. "However, due to the lack of roads, our products are rotting in the fields", he said.

He says that most of the roads can be walked in winter but it is difficult to walk in rainy season. He says, "If the road is not built on time, it is difficult to get the patient to the hospital." Pariyar says that the pace at which the development should have taken place is very slow.

Here is the Bhimkaya mountain of sorrow . Because of this, locals are forced to migrate every year in search of happiness. Especially, Damak, Virtamod and some of Elam in Jhapa are migrating to the headquarters area . The growing series of migrations will one day destroy the village! The concern is starting to increase', local Saraswati Rai said, 'to stop migration, it is necessary to develop the village and guarantee employment to the youth.'

The population of Phakphokthum Rural Municipality, about 60 kilometers west of Ilam headquarters, is around 20,000. Limbu Jati Wahulya Municipality is known for the production of herbs and agricultural produce. However, instead of solving the problem of drinking water here, it is increasing.

Bhajindra Lamichhane, a resident of Ward No. 3 Amchok, which is the center of Phakphokthum, told bitterly that hundreds of locals of Amchok are forced to drink Kholsa water. "If it doesn't rain, it's fine, when it rains, the hole becomes cloudy", he added, "We have had to live by drinking the same dirty water for years."

According to Lamichhane, Amchokbasi's The biggest problem is the water problem. He says, "We would rather have no road, we have to have clean water to drink."

In the 2079 local level elections in Phakphokthum, the majority members of the executive including the president and vice president are UML . UML has won 3 out of 7 wards. UML's Dipendra Khanal got 5,300 votes as the president while 11,000 votes fell in this municipality, which has about 16,000 voters. The Congress candidate was satisfied with 4 thousand 800 . In 2074, Nepali Congress contested for the presidency and UML for the vice-president.