If one were to scan one’s surroundings, it would seem that the only activity undertaken in the name of infrastructure development is the construction of observation towers, popularly known as view towers. We very recently witnessed one such view tower being inaugurated by the chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) Pushpa Kamal Dahal at Satdobato in Rolpa, which cost the state Rs60 million. What is more astounding is that it is one of the largest infrastructure projects the local government has undertaken in the last five years. All this while the basic necessities of the people, especially in far-flung rural areas, are yet to be met.

It is hard to fathom the government’s priorities in the development agenda. Despite people being left to fend for themselves when it comes to accessing necessities revolving around health, education, food supplies and good road networks, accessibility in rural Nepal remains poor, as we witnessed in the tragic case of Jai Singh Dhami from Darchula, who lost his life in the process of crossing a river using an improvised cable. As Dhami was winching himself across the raging waters, a member of India’s Sashastra Seema Bal detached the cable fixed on the Indian side, media reports said, quoting eyewitnesses. Dhami perhaps would still be alive if there was a road connecting his village to the district headquarters. And there are countless tales of hardships for the poor and down-trodden, which often go unreported because the state chooses to misplace its priorities.

In a similar vein, school students of several villages in Kalimati Rural Municipality-7 of Salyan district have no access to a bridge to cross the Babai River to get to school. It isn’t that the children are resorting to wading across the river only now; they never had a bridge, to begin with. That is the level of negligence by the provincial and federal governments. Despite repeated calls from the rural municipality, the government is seen as being oblivious to the problems faced by the people.

Whatever the government’s intentions, the message is as clear as day: The provision of access to education isn’t on its list of priorities. As it is, schools are few and far between, and despite the numerous hardships faced by the people, the least the government can do is ensure safe passage for them to get to school, which is perhaps the last beacon of hope to escape from the vicious circle of a life driven by immeasurable difficulty and poverty. With the elections fast approaching, what accomplishments are the politicians proposing to showcase?

There is hardly any talk of improving the state of the economy or controlling spiralling inflation, nor is there any talk of investment in the health sector or provision of jobs for the multitudes of jobless youths who leave the country in droves seeking to provide for their families. So, what other parameters are there to judge from? They certainly cannot expect to go canvassing for votes against a backdrop of the multitudes of view towers popping up all over the country, which are a bit of an eyesore in all fairness.