MYAGDI: “There is no place higher than a hilltop, and no village higher than Gurja”—this popular saying in Myagdi reflects the long-standing remoteness of Gurja in Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality–1.
Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality has begun planning to connect Gurja, long regarded as one of the most remote settlements in the district, to the road network within the current fiscal year. Rural Municipality Chairman Prem Prasad Pun said Gurja will be linked to the transport system by constructing an additional four kilometers of road under the Lulang–Gurja Road Project.
“The Lulang–Gurja road, which began in fiscal year 2079/80 BS, is a priority project of the rural municipality,” Pun said. “Over the past three years, around 18 kilometers of road have been opened from Lulang to Bhaisimane with investments from the rural municipality as well as the provincial and federal governments.”
According to Pun, contractor Lulu Construction, selected under Rs 17 million plan for the current fiscal year, has already opened about one kilometer of road from Bhaisimane Khalta to Jhirso. A contract worth Rs 8.885 million was signed this month.
Ward Chairperson of Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality–1, Jhak Bahadur Chhantyal, said that once the remaining four kilometers are completed, Gurja will be fully connected to the transport network. “Until two years ago, reaching Lulang from Gurja required a full day of walking through cliffs, forests, and streams,” he said. “Now, Gurja is just a 30-minute walk from Jhirso, which is accessible by vehicle.”
After vehicle services begin, Chhantyal said, travel time from Gurja to Muna, the rural municipality headquarters, will be about two and a half hours, to Beni five hours, and to Pokhara around seven hours.
Along with road opening, gabion walls, machinery walls, and palisade structures have been built at various locations. For the current fiscal year, the federal Ministry of Urban Development has allocated Rs 30 million, while the Gandaki Provincial Government has allocated Rs 50 million for road upgrading, including grading, curve improvement, widening narrow sections, and constructing paved drains.
The provincial government has also signed a contract to construct a 25-meter-long motorable bridge over Darkhola at Lamsung along the Gurja road. With improved access, transportation of daily necessities and construction materials has become easier, and patients can now be taken to hospitals in a timely manner.
Gurja, home primarily to Chhantyal and Dalit communities, is the only ward among Myagdi’s 45 local levels that has so far lacked road access. The ward has 265 households and a population of 1,505. The Chhantyal and Dalit communities originally settled in Gurja during mining activities.
Due to the absence of road access, residents have long relied on mules, horses, and porters to transport food and construction materials, while patients often had to be airlifted by helicopter.
Rural Municipality Vice-Chairperson Resham Pun Magar said that once road access is ensured, daily life for Gurja residents will become easier and domestic tourism is expected to increase.
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