The village of Umakhola in Rukum (West) does not have motor road access. But that is about to change. The locals have taken up the task of connecting their village with the district’s road network.

Already, they have opened more than one-kilometre road track using traditional tools and equipment. The Rural Community Infrastructure Development Programme has allocated Rs 2.5 million for the project.

Umakhola is a remote village located in Aathbiskot Municipality Ward No. 1, one of the two wards in the municipality without motorable roads.

Dhaniram Budha, chief of the road construction committee, said the road project was initiated following the locals’ collective desire to link their village and the district headquarters with a motorable road.

“We want to bring transportation facility in our village,” Budha said.

Mayor Gorkha Bahadur KC said that the task undertaken by the villagers of Umakhola was not just aspirational but also worth emulating by other villages.

“It is a supreme example of communal harmony. It’s quite moving to see the locals working together towards achieving a common goal,” he said.

KC said connecting Umakhola to a road network was one of his top priorities when he took the mayor’s office.

The road project is expected to be completed within a year.

The federal government has provided a special grant of Rs 100 million to Aathbiskot Municipality to connect its two wards with the road network.