Dipayal, July 31

Uchhakot village located at Sikhar Municipality in Doti is known as ‘The Village of Doctors’. The village is the birthplace of as many as 15 doctors.

Ironically, development has remained a far cry for the village which now wears a deserted look.

Earlier there used to be more than 50 households in the village. But now there are only three houses. The village has turned into a desolate place after most of its residents migrated to other places.

Hari Prasad Pant, chairman of Sitaram Campus Management Committee said the village was the birthplace of many doctors, but over time they all left the village seeking better opportunities.

Dr Jayaraj Pant, Dr Hemraj Pant,  Dr Chetraj Pant, Dr Naina Pant, Dr Ganeshraj Pant, Dr Santosh Pant, among others, hail from the village. Despite achieving success in life, these prominent people did nothing for their village, locals complained. Of then, nine hold PhD degrees while the remaining six are medical doctors. Prof  Jayaraj Pant and Dr Guddi Pant, who hail from the village, died in a jeep accident earlier.

Jayaram Rosyar, a local resident, said the doctors had bought houses in Kathmandu and foreign countries but did nothing for their birthplace. “At least the old ones should have thought about the village as the new generation does not tend to think much about their place of origin,” Rosyar said. According to him, the village even lacks cetamol tablets.

The village has been facing drinking water problems after the water project completed years ago went dysfunctional for want of repair and maintenance. “Schools in the village are run on local resources. We are struggling to run the campus due to lack of resources,” said ward Chairman Krishna Bahadur Bista.