RAUTAHAT: Denizens of at least six village development committees of Rautahat district along the Nepal-India border have been compelled to travel through India to reach its district headquarters, Gaur. The locals of the VDCs use the Indian railway service to reach Gaur, as the roads connecting the VDCs to the district headquarters have been damaged due to torrential downpour. Locals of Banjaraha, Aauraiya, Mathiya, and Dumariya Paroha VDCs of the district among others, have to travel via India to reach Gaur. According to Shivaprasad Gupta, a local of Banjaraha VDC, it only took 20 minutes to reach Gaur through the rural road connecting his village to the district headquarters, while it took three times more traveling through India.

Gupta said it was very inconvenient for the villagers to finish administrative works as they had to travel a long way just to reach the district headquarters. He said the local administration had not taken any initiative to repair the muddy Hulaki Sadak. Residents of Dumariya Paroha VDC have also been facing difficulties to reach the district headquarters. Hasina Begam of Dumariya Paroha said that they now had to go to India to buy essentials as the road section connecting the village to the district headquarters had been damaged by incessant rain. He said that they were compelled to buy materials from India though they were much expensive there.

Meanwhile, the locals warned of protest if the local administration failed to repair the damaged roads at the earliest.