'विकास' ले छुट्याउँछ नेपाल-चीन सीमा

-जयबहादुर रोकाया-


हिल्सा -हुम्ला, आश्विन २९ - आँखै सामुन्ने पारि तिब्बतका चिल्ला सडकमा सुलुल्ल गाडी गुड्छन् । वारि टाउकोमा भारी बोकेर हुम्लीहरू गाडी गुडेको हेर्छन् मात्र, चढ्न पाउँदैनन् ।

सिमानामा सरकारको उपस्थिति त छँदै छैन । झट्ट नेपाल-चीन सीमा छुट्याउनै मुस्किल छ । तर साधन स्रोतले भने मजैसँग सीमा छुट्याएको छ । उत्तरी चीनको सिमाना हिल्सामा सीमा छुट्याउने यही एउटा तरिका हो । सीमा स्तम्भ खोज्नुभन्दा विकास हेरे सीमा छुट्याउन सजिलो हुने हिल्सावासी बताउँछन् ।

हो पनि, सीमापारका चिनियाँ घरको आँगनमै टक्क गाडीबाट सामान झार्छन् । दुईपाङ्ग्रे बाइक हुइँक्याउँछन् । खेतमा ट्याक्टरले बाली लगाउँछन् । तर वारिका नेपाली भने पिठ्यूँमा भारी लादेर सडक नापिरहेका हुन्छन् । नेपालीले सरकारसँग चामल र नुन माग्नुपर्छ । महँगीको मार उत्तिकै छ । तर उता भने अपुग केही छैन । उनीहरूको विकास हेरेर नेपाली चित्त बुझाउँछन् ।

नेपालीहरू सीमा पार गर्नेबित्तिकै डोरी र नाम्लो खोज्छन् । सरसामान ओसार्छन् । हुम्ला सदरमुकामदेखि चीन सिमानासम्म सडक यातायात जोड्ने जिल्ला विकास समितिले १० वर्ष पहिलेकोे योजना अहिलेसम्म पूरा नहुँदा यस्तो सास्ती खेप्नुपरेको हो । करोडौं खर्च भए पनि एक किलोमिटरमा समेत गाडी गुड्दैन । तर नेपालको सीमा हिल्सा बजारसम्म सडक कालोपत्रे गर्ने चीन सरकारको तीन वर्ष पहिलेको योजना भने पूरा भइसकेको छ ।

हिल्सा-सिमकोट बाटो निर्माणका लागि विश्व खाद्य कार्यक्रमले ०५७ सालदेखि बर्सेनि ३ सय ५० मेटि्रक टन चामल उपलब्ध गराउँदै आएको छ । बाटोमा अहिलेसम्म झन्डै २६ सय क्विन्टल चामल खर्च भइसकेको छ । जिल्ला विकास समितिले ३० किलोमिटर बाटो निर्माण भइसकेको विवरण दिँदै आए पनि एक किलोमिटर पनि बन्न सकेको छैन ।

मोटर चढ्ने हुम्लीको रहर भने जहीँको तहीँ छ । त्यसैले पनि सीमापारिका चिनियाँ हुम्लीलाई जिस्क्याउँदै भन्छन्, 'चामलको बोरा बिछ्याउँदै लगे पनि अहिलेसम्म नारालेक पार भइसक्थ्यो ।' यस्तो व्यंग्यको प्रतिवाद हुम्ली गर्न सक्दैनन् । हिल्सा-सिमकोट मोटरबाटो स्थानीय नेतालाई राजनीतिक मुद्दा बन्ने गरेको छ । स्थानीयवासी सरकार र केन्द्रीय नेतालाई यो सडक हुम्ली फकाउने औषधि बनिरहेको बताउँछन् ।

माओवादी नेता बाबुराम भट्टराई, हिसिला यमीदेखि एमाले नेता वामदेव गौतमसम्मले हिल्सा सयर गरिसकेका छन् । फर्केलगत्तै उनीहरूले बाटो बन्ने आश्वासन दिएका थिए । यमी भौतिक योजना मन्त्री हुँदा कणर्ालीमा बेलिबि्रज र नेपाली सेनामार्फत पक्की पुल बनाउने आश्वासन बाँडेकी थिइन् । गौतमले अर्को असोजभित्र सिमकोटमा गाडी पुग्ने भाषण गर्दा राम्रै ताली पाएका थिए । अहिले सिमकोटमा पिच गर्न ठेकेदारले ल्याएका ट्याक्टर देखाएर यिनै हुन् गाडी भनेर स्थानीयवासीले

कामरेडी भाषणलाई सक्दो उडाउने गरेका छन् ।

चीन सरकारले सीमामै पक्की घर निर्माण गरी सुरक्षाकर्मी र अध्यागमनका पदाधिकारी बस्ने व्यवस्था गरेको छ । विदेशी पाहुनाले सीमामै गाडी चढ्न पाँउछन् । सीमा नजिकका सबै गाउँमा आधारभूत आवश्यकताका सम्पूर्ण व्यवस्था छ । बरगाउँ गाविस लिमाटाङका फुन्जोक भन्छन्, 'उनीहरूकै विकास हेरेर बस्छौं ।' विकासका नाममा सीमासँग जोडिएको हिल्सा बजारमा नेपाल सरकारको अस्थायी प्रहरी चौकी छ । त्यो पनि कात्तिक लागेपछि सदरमुकाम सर्छ ।

अस्थायी चौकी भएकाले प्रहरीको बसाइ पनि सजिलो छैन । चिसो ठाउँमा बस्ने प्रहरीलाई विशेष सुविधा नदिएको गुनासो प्रहरीको छ । अन्य चौकीका प्रहरीसरहको कपडा उपलब्ध गराउने गरेको छ । सीमामा भन्सार नहुँदा अवैध कारोबार बढेको स्थानीय बताउँछन् । अवैध रूपमै काठ जान गरे पनि वन कार्यालयको प्रतिनिधित्व सीमामा नभएको स्थानीयले बताएका छन् । सदरमुकामदेखि चार दिन पैदल लाग्ने हिल्सामा सिमाना भए पनि पर्यटकलाई नेपाल पार गरेको अध्यागमनको छाप सिमकोटमै लगाइने गरिएको छ । सीमा जोडिएको मुचु गाविसका कुमार लामा भन्छन्, 'सीमामा सरकारको उपस्थिति हुनुपर्छ पारि झन्डा फरफराउँदा हाम्रो मन दुख्छ । हाम्रातिर झन्डा नै छैन ।'

Becoming Humli

Remote Simikot beats crammed Kathmandu

YOGI KAYASTHA

A fifteen years working in the Kathmandu Valley, biking daily from my home in Bhaktapur to work in Kathmandu or Patan, I decided enough was enough. I packed my bags and left for Simikot, headquarters of Humla.

Humla is a different world from Kathmandu. Human settlements range from 1500 metres above sea level in southeastern Humla to a staggering 4000 metres in the Limi valley. Simikot itself lies at a daunting but refreshing 3000 metres above sea level. Although the second largest district, Humla has a population density of just 7 people per square kilometre. Compare this with Bhaktapur, the smallest district, which has a population density of 1780 people per square kilometre.


The life of a Humli villager is a harsh one. Most live on steep mountain slopes and struggle to survive. Some seem content with their lot, but others bitterly resent it. Schoolteacher Nanda Bahadur Rokaya from Yangu village, which sits in a deep valley cut by the Karnali river, gestures at the gushing Karnali below and complains, "This river has been flowing for thousands of years but is of no use to us. It neither gives us water nor electricity." Rokaya's frustrations are shared by many of his fellow-Humlis.


Humli children from Yangu village
Yet Simikot is an easier place to live in than Kathmandu in many ways. There are no power cuts, except during regular maintenance of the local power station. Potable water is abundant and telephone connections are good. Locals enjoy 25 TV channels and, thanks to the recent Humla Development Initiative (HDI), email and internet access too. Most Humlis haven't ever seen a traffic jam. The local biodiversity, which includes many medicinal plants, is sure to thrill botanists. Simikot is hemmed in by high, snow-capped mountains, but the weather is generally pleasant. In May, for example, when it was a blazing 42 degrees in Nepalganj, it was a cool 20 degrees here.


However, Simikot is so remote it calls to mind Soviet-era Siberia. Unless you want to walk 7 days from Accham's Sanphe Bagar, you will have to hop on to two-50 minute flights, from Kathmandu to Nepalganj, and again from Nepalganj to Simikot, to get here. To make matters worse, this is the most expensive air route, and yet still half as expensive as the next best thing: choppering in from Surkhet. Even if you have the money, you're likely to get stuck in Nepalganj for anywhere upto a fortnight. Too many Humlis have missed exams or job interviews in Nepalganj because of flight delays.


Humli Buddhists doing a Thaikur dance
The expenses don't end there. Most things in Humla are three to five times more expensive than elsewhere in the country since they have to be flown in. Consider this: an egg costs Rs.30 (Rs.8 in Kathmandu), a kilo of sugar costs Rs.180 (Rs.55, Ktm), a litre of soybean oil costs Rs.360 (Rs.110, Ktm), a bar of washing soap costs Rs.60 (Rs.12, Ktm), and a packet of instant noodles costs Rs.35 (Rs.15, Ktm).

The government does subsidise rice and salt, and last year spent 60 million rupees transporting rice and salt from Nepalganj and Surkhet to Simikot. This is a well-meaning gesture. But like many Humlis, I wonder when the government will realise that it may make more sense to invest that money in job creation or sustainable food production. Maybe then, more people like me will flood into this remote paradise.

Yogi Kayastha is working in Simikot as Programme Manager of the Humla Development Initiative.


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Lost in translation


Making lakkad, buckwheat bread
Soon after I arrived in Humla on an assignment, a member of the field staff asked me, "Sir, asuro sanga lakkad khanu hunchha?" (Would you like to eat lakkad with asuro?) Perplexed, I asked what asuro was. He looked at me quizzically and answered "It's a pickle made from choti."

"Choti?"

It went on like this for a while, but I finally understood that he was asking if I wanted something akin to radish pickle with my buckwheat bread, which Humlis know as lakkad.

Humlis also use much simpler verb conjugations, like aya (to come), gaya (to go), khaya (to eat), diya (to give), and laya (to bring), with all pronouns. It has been established that Humlis speak a variant of Nepali popular during Prithivi Narayan Shah's day.

रलिंग गुम्बा, हुम्ला

संरक्षणको पर्खाइमा रलिङ् गुम्बा