Jajarkot, January 23

Having suffered massive human casualty during the armed Maoist conflict in the past, Jajarkot’s Rimna village is all set to become a model village, thanks to the development that the village has witnessed over the years.

With the changing face of the village, the residents here are slowly and gradually forgetting the bitter past. The then Puspa Kamal Dahal-led government had announced to declare nine wards across the country, including Rimna village in Bherimalika ward no-1 of the district, as model wards.

Various facilities like drinking water and sanitation office, health centre, banks, school, Sahid Park, police post and micro hydropower projects have been restored and set up in the village. Over the years, the state has invested around Rs 105 million for drinking water, micro hydropower projects, roads, irrigation and school in the village.

Similarly, various development activities are under progress in the village. One of them is the proposed Jajarkot-Dolpa road via Rimna, which the locals believe, could change the face of the village.

After the completion of a 12 KW capacity micro-hydropower project, another under-construction 14 KW project has given hope to the local folks. “There were days when kerosene lamps or resin were the only means to provide us light, but now that we have these power projects, we have been able to light up our houses as well as use various types of home appliances such as computers and televisions.

Meanwhile, the local Tribeni Secondary School has been upgraded with a ten-room concrete building, girl-friendly lavatory, Martyrs’ Memorial building and Martyrs’ Park in memory of over 300 martyrs who were killed during the Maoist insurgency in the district.