JHAPA, MARCH 20

Out of four settlements in Mechinagar Municipality across the Mechi River at the Nepal-India border that lack basic facilities such as electricity, education, health and transportation, Gwalbasti has been finally illuminated.

Bhadrapur distribution centre, Nepal Electricity Authority, in cooperation with the municipality has brought electricity to the village with 17 houses. Electric meters have been installed for free, said the municipality Mayor Bimal Acharya. Acharya and deputy mayor Mina Upreti jointly inaugurated the power supply by switching on a power button. Installation of electric poles in other villages deprived of power is under way, said ward chair of Mechinagar, Guna Raj Bhattarai, adding that they would get electricity within this month.

The settlements housing Yadav, Santhal and Pahan communities in majority is disconnected for at least three months when the river is flooded. Demands of the local people for a bridge over the river have gone unheard.

The municipality has taken initiatives to construct a suspension bridge over the river, said Upreti.

A version of this article appears in the print on March 21, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.