Karnali Province | Harsh Reality

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“???? ?? ?ℎ? ?ℎ??? ??? ?????”, said her father when I approached her for a picture. This little girl had just finished having lunch and was about to wash her hand when I took her picture. Living in a small house in Manma, Kalikot, the poor girl and her family do not have enough facilities. They lack regular electricity and clean and regular water supply.

The first thing I noticed was her charming face with rosy cheeks and pearly eyes. The second thing I noticed was her hands full of flies. During my one-day stay at Manma, I did not care if the place was dirty or not. But the minute after I met this little girl, I started noticing each child in the area. Not just children, even youths and adults lacked hygiene. This was their way of life.

 

There was no electricity and network in another village in Kalikot after traveling for a certain distance. The villagers kept cold drinks under the sand on the bank of the Karnali River to keep it cold. I was fascinated and then imagined a day in my life without electricity, it surely got dark.

Things got worse after I made further travel to the mountain region of Karnali Province. Reaching Mugu was a huge disappointment in terms of cleanliness. I stayed in a homestay around 10 km away from Rara Lake inside Rara National Park. Being such a touristic place, I had imagined having at least some basic facilities like clean water and room. I do not want to sound rude, but people did not bother to clean themselves or wear clean clothes. Those who cooked food for us, and the owners of the homestay were dirty too. The room that I stayed in was not better either. They complained about irregular water supply but it did not seem so. I slept with all my clothes on and then covering myself with the dirty blanket with the hope that it does not touch my skin directly.

I have wonderful memories of Karnali Province which I have mentioned in other blogs. This blog shows the sad side of some districts of Karnali Province. People lack awareness about the importance of personal hygiene and sanitation. I hope things get better when I visit Karnali Province next time.

Aleena Rayamajhi
5/9/2021