Key Takeaways:
- Rs 23.66 million worth of buildings have remained unused for more than five years
- Health post and ward office continue to face space shortages
- Local dispute has blocked plans to use the campus buildings
- Public investment risks deterioration as structures remain vacant
Two buildings constructed at a cost of Rs 23.66 million in Bajura have remained unused for more than five years, even as the local health post operates from a dilapidated structure and the ward office lacks a building of its own.
Built on a hill in Jukot of Swamikartik Khapar Rural Municipality-3, the structures were intended to house a campus. But the project has never become operational, leaving the buildings vulnerable to deterioration. Local residents say cattle now use some of the rooms for shelter.
According to the rural municipality, Rs 15.89 million was spent on construction, Rs 6 million on a boundary wall and Rs 771,190 on land acquisition, bringing the total investment to Rs 23.66 million.
The municipality has explored several options to put the buildings to use, including relocating the health post, ward office or Shambhusunda Secondary School. However, disagreements among local residents have prevented a consensus.
The dispute centres on the proposed relocation of the school, whose name holds ownership of the land. Although the existing school and the new buildings are only about 200 metres apart, differences between residents of lower and upper Jukot have stalled efforts to bring the facilities into operation.
As the deadlock continues, the area faces a growing mismatch between infrastructure and public-service needs. The health post continues to function from an aging building, while the ward office still lacks dedicated premises.
Municipal officials say efforts to resolve the dispute and utilise the buildings are ongoing, but no timeline has been set for when the structures will finally come into use.
