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An apple farmer’s sweet success in politics
Polden Chhopang Gurung, 57, is a well-known figure in Manang, a part of Province 4, which lies close to the Nepal-Tibet border.Aash Gurung
Polden Chhopang Gurung, 57, is a well-known figure in Manang, a part of Province 4, which lies close to the Nepal-Tibet border.
Gurung three years ago said goodbye to his lucrative hotel business in Thamel and returned to his village, setting his sights on making Manang the largest apple producing district.
The apple farmer now has turned a full-fledged politician. On Friday, Gurung was elected to the federal parliament from Manang from the CPN-UML ticket, securing 2,300 votes. He defeated former state minister and Nepali Congress leader Tek Bahadur Gurung, who garnered 2,021 votes. Gurung is known for changing traditional methods of apple farming. His orchard spread across 450 ropanis (about 22.9 hectares) in Neshyang Rural Municipality has around 67,000 apple trees. These trees first started bearing fruits three years ago. This year, Gurung recorded a bumper harvest, with sales revenue expected to hit a whopping Rs50 million. Gurung is planning to further increase apple production by expanding the size of the farm and raising investment to Rs230 million.
He plans to plant 75,000 saplings on an additional 285 ropanis of land, hoping to harvest 900,000kg apples in 2018, 1.3 million kg in 2019, and 1.8 million kg in 2020 and 2.1 million kg in 2021.
Gurung now is not only a successful apple farmer but also politician, ensuring victory for the UML for the time in Manang. Dev Prasad Gurung of the then Maoist party had won Constituent Assembly elections in 2008 from Manang, which was earlier said to be the stronghold of the Nepali Congress.
“I was attracted to a politics for some change,” he said. “Now, I have a wish to make Manang’s apple popular in Singh Durbar.”
Gurung said he would work to promote the potential of Manang’s agriculture and tourism. “My focus will be on developing infrastructure for the district.”