Electricity reaches remote Lapchi village
The electricity has been provided in a remote village in Bigu Rural Municipality-1. The houses of Lapchi residents who have been living in geographical remoteness, harsh weather, and lack of basic amenities have been under the light since Friday night.
Roshan Kumar Singh, head of the Nepal Electricity Authority Dolakha Distribution Center, said that electricity has been lit since Friday night in Lumnang, Bigu Rural Municipality-1, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Nepal Electricity Authority Dolakha Distribution Center. He said that the transformer for electricity has been arranged by Sasa Hydro Power in Lamabagar and other arrangements have been made by the authority.
Lapchi residents descend to Lumnang every year in winter to escape the cold and protect their cattle, and then go to Lapchi when the cold subsides. Pasang Sherpa, chairperson of the Lapchi Gumba, said that cattle rearing is the main source of livelihood for the residents here. There are a total of 48 households in Lumnang, but only 13 households live there.
Due to the lack of access to the road network, locals say that transporting daily necessities including food from in their ward costs a lot. A packet of salt from Lamabagar in their ward costs up to Rs 160, and a sack of rice weighing 30 kg costs up to Rs 6,000, said Wangchuk Sherpa, chairperson of the Lapchi Toll Development Committee. However, when goods are brought from Chupsang in China via the Lapchi-Ramding border, a packet of salt costs only Rs 50 at most, he said.
It takes about an hour and a half to reach Chupsang in China from Lapchi via Ramding. Locals of Lapchi say that if the Chinese government allows them to go to Tasinghang after passing through, they can get goods at even cheaper prices. Therefore, the daily life of the people of Lapchi depends on the Chinese market. Although not all of the 150 Lapchi residents live in Lapchi, their main occupation is cattle herding.
They pay taxes to the Chinese government annually for cattle grazing. The locals, who have been deprived of electricity for years, are happy to have access to the national grid. With the supply of electricity, daily life will become easier and it is expected to have a positive impact on education, health, communication and economic activities. Chairperson Pasang also said that it will now be easier to charge mobile and communication devices and the possibility of operating small businesses will increase. Although the construction work was challenging due to the remote geographical conditions, the Dolakha Distribution Center stated that the project was successfully completed with the cooperation of the locals and the continuous efforts of the authority.
