BAGLUNG: Increasing migration has led to the desertification of rural areas in Baglung.
As more people move to urban centers in search of better amenities, settlements in places like Kathekhola, Galkot, and Jaimini are becoming increasingly deserted.
While development has reached these villages through local-level initiatives, the number of residents utilizing these services is dwindling.
Dilaram Pun of Kathekhola Rural Municipality-5 Bihun explained that the development of infrastructure, including education, health services, transportation, and electricity, has made remote areas more connected, but many people are choosing to move to the city instead.
He noted that a decade ago, villagers could farm on their own, but now there is no one available to assist with emergencies, such as taking the sick to the hospital.
As a result, much of the village’s cultivable land has been overtaken by forests due to migration.
Pun said, “Look at the village now compared to what it used to be. Those who could afford to move have left for the cities. Only the poor remain.”
He added, “The youth have gone abroad, and the rest of us are old. We were born and raised here, and now we’ll die here. Where will we go at this age? We are deeply worried that the village will be abandoned.”
Mayadevi Shree from Galkot Municipality-5 expressed similar concerns, stating that if the younger generation continues to favor urban areas, the village will soon be overgrown with bushes.
She recalled that ten years ago, the village was bustling with people, but now, residents are unable to help one another in times of need.
“Previously, there were no motor roads in the village, and we had to bring essentials like salt, oil, and rice from the market. We stood in long lines for drinking water. Now, motor vehicles pass by our door, and there is water flowing in the courtyard,” she said.
“However, there are no people left to benefit from the development that has come to the village. If migration is not controlled, the village may disappear.”
Galkot Municipality spokesperson Him Bahadur Bhandari said that to stop migration, micro-enterprise programs have been launched to provide local youth with employment opportunities, and subsidies have been offered to farmers raising livestock.
Since many people migrate for better access to education and healthcare, the municipality is working to improve the quality of education in community schools and enhance healthcare services.
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