MUGU, April 30: Many villages in Mugu district are without electricity for years, affecting the local people in many ways.
The lack of power supply means the villagers have to depend on traditional sources of light like 'Diyalo' (pine tree wood with resin that produces light when lit), and kerosene lamps. Using traditional means for light has had many health problems for them. Kumma Lal Budha of Sobhagun of Chhayanath Rara Municipality-12 and his family have been relying on Diyalo for years. Kumma Lal, now 69, is suffering from asthma and eye problems.
“I am suffering from asthma and eye problems as a result of depending on Diyalo for years. We have been dependent on Diyalo since the time of our forefathers,” he said. He suffered from asthma around 25 years ago as a result of smoke inhalation from Diyalo, he claimed. He also has a cataract. Many villagers have been suffering from the disease as a result, he maintained.
Budha has now lost his hope that he would see electricity during his lifetime. “The village may not get electricity during my time. Even now, we are dependent on Diyalo,” he shared.
Smoke emanating from Diyalo has been a major reason for elderly people to develop asthma, said an official at Karmarong Rural Municipality. Around 75 percent of elderly people have developed the disease due to smoke from Diyalo, he said.
Out of around 1,200 households in this rural municipality, a total of 431 have lacked access to electric power, forcing them to be dependent on Diyalo and kerosene lamps. Power generated from 60 kilowatts solar panels set up at Sorukot cannot be enough to illuminate all villages of the rural municipality, said a local Karna Jung Shahi.
Tapping into sustainable energy
The plan is to expand the Nerkhola hydropower project and illuminate all villages. But, the lack of budget has been a major concern, said Dharma Bahadur Shahi, chairperson of Sorukot Rural Municipality.
The villagers in Chhayanat Rara Municipality go to Gamgadhi bazaar, a half hour walk from the village, to get their electric gadgets charged, he said. They felt pain when the Gamgadhi bazaar just across the village was illuminated with electric power while they had to endure darkness, he added.
Around 165 families of the village have been living in the dark without electricity, said the village authorities.
Out of around 9,000 households in the entire district, approximately 5,000 have been relying on Diyalo, according to the latest census. The remaining have got access to electric power and alternative energy. Of the total 2,546 households in Chhayanath Rara Municipality, 1600 have access to electricity.
The villages including Shova, Rowa, Tallekh, Ghattalekh, Salim, Rayangchyakati, Lumsa, Balchaur, Kampha, Baam and Murma are without electricity. The government has yet to expand the national transmission line in the district. The villages that have been illuminated have got power generated from the local hydropower projects and alternative energy.
On the other hand, flooding and landslides have damaged many local hydropower projects, thus cutting off electric power supply to many villages. The flooding and landslides on 5 October, 2022 swept away 15 micro hydropower projects in Khatyad Rural Municipality, discontinuing electricity supply to the villages.
Without repair of the damaged projects, around 3,651 households in this rural municipality are forced to rely on kerosene lamps and Diyalo, said vice chairperson of the rural municipality, Sarita Rokaya.
The natural disasters damaged 15 micro hydropower projects including Seri, Toli, Kharka, Kerai Chimadungri, Paikhu, Jamirkarkha, Panseri and Raskotibada, she said. It requires at least Rs 100 million for repairing the hydropower projects. “The rural municipality alone cannot manage the budget for the same. The provincial and federal governments have not been concerned about the matter,” she said.
The local people have been affected in many ways without power, she said. School-going children have been affected without electricity, and the locals have been deprived of income generated from electric-run equipment, she said.
“We are unable to run small industries for lack of electricity,” said a local entrepreneur Lokraj Dahal. The rural municipality is considered to be a pocket area for agricultural products and fruits. Industries to make concrete blocks, sewing and tailoring shops, bread industry, saw mills and crusher plants could not be run in the villages, he said.
Children have been deprived of computer classes without electric power, said a local school teacher, Kamal Sharma.
The federal government two years ago came up with a plan to install a 400 kilowatts solar plant in Gamgadhi after the Gamgadhi micro hydropower project from time to time got obstructed due to various reasons, said the authorities. However, the project is yet to proceed for want of budget, said Dharma Bahadur Shahi, chairperson of the rural municipality.
Efforts were on to announce bidding to install the plant within mid-April, said Sajan Bahadur Aidi, the distribution chief of the Gamgadh micro hydropower project.
Meanwhile, lawmakers from Karnali Province including Ain Bahadur Shahi have been putting pressure on the authorities concerned to connect Mugu with the national transmission line.
Following this, managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, Kulman Ghising, on an occasion, pledged to expand the line to the district within mid-July. He made this promise during his visit some seven months ago to Mugu and Humla districts to carry out a feasibility study on expanding the transmission line.
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