Four wards in Bajura remain without road access as infrastructure projects stall

Bajura, October 24, 2026 — Four wards in Bajura district remain disconnected from the road network, forcing residents to walk for hours to access basic services, transport essential goods and take patients to health facilities.

The lack of roads has also made it difficult for farmers to transport agricultural produce to markets and has disrupted daily life in remote settlements, despite the expansion of local government services under Nepal’s federal system.

Himali Rural Municipality is the largest local government unit in the district by area. Bajura has nine local units—four municipalities and five rural municipalities—and covers 2,188 square kilometres. Himali alone spans 830 square kilometres, making development work particularly challenging because of its difficult terrain.

Wards 2 and 3 of Himali Rural Municipality remain without road connections. Local resident Dhan Bahadur Rokaya said residents in these wards need to walk for around two to three days to reach Dhulachaur, the rural municipality’s administrative centre.

According to Rokaya, travelling from one village to another can take more than a day. Food and other essential supplies must be carried by people or transported using mules.

“We are completely deprived of communication and road access; other forms of development are even further away,” said Mangal Bahadur Budha, chair of Ward 3. “Without roads, we have to walk wherever we need to go, and people, including patients, have to be carried on someone’s back.”

Himali Rural Municipality Chair Govinda Bahadur Malla said no ward in the municipality had road access during his first term. He attributed the slow pace of infrastructure development to limited resources, difficult geography and what he described as neglect by the federal and provincial governments.

“During my previous term, no road had reached any ward. The terrain is difficult, and our resources are insufficient,” Malla said. “Because substantial funding for road construction did not come from the federal and provincial governments, two wards are still without road connections.”