National
Dipayal as state capital major agenda in Doti
Projection of Dipayal as the capital of Province 7 has emerged as a major electoral agenda of both the left alliance and Nepali Congress candidates in Doti.Kamal Dev Bhattarai
Projection of Dipayal as the capital of Province 7 has emerged as a major electoral agenda of both the left alliance and Nepali Congress candidates in Doti.
The campaigning candidates of both the forces have pledged that they would pitch for Dipayal as the provincial capital if they won from Doti.
Doti has a single constituency for federal parliament for which Prem Ale of the leftist bloc and Bir Bahadur Balayer of the NC are in the fray.
Asked about their other priorities, the candidates said construction and expansion of road networks at the local level was one.
Dipayal was the headquarters of the far-western region before the country adopted federalism. The town has regional offices of the government agencies, police and the Army.
UML candidate Ale said the existing infrastructure in Dipayal is sufficient to set up the provincial capital. “If a fast-track is built between Dhangadi and Dipayal, which is possible, this is the best place for setting up the capital. We can build an 82km fast-track,” he said.
According to Ale, both leaders from the UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre) are pressing their top leaders to choose Dipayal as the provincial headquarters. He is of the view that Dipayal is accessible to other remote districts of Doti, Bajhang, Baitadi, Achham and Darchula.
NC candidate Balayer, who is the minister for physical infrastructure transport, said Dipayal was almost sure to be selected as the provincial capital.
Also on his agenda is connectivity with Taklakot in Tibet, China. He claimed to be working on it as the minster.
People in Doti said designation of Dipayal as the capital would bring prosperity and development to them. There are also calls for Dadeldhura to be picked as the headquarters.
The government is planning to announce temporary capitals of the provinces only after the federal and provincial elections.