सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Myagdi. A beautiful autumn day. Clear sky. Bright mountains to the north. Paddy fields all over the fields. At first glance, it seems that everyone in the village is happy. Happiness is in the air.
But, where is the reality? The village’s charm has disappeared with the youth here. Only the elderly are in the village. Those who came to the village to celebrate Dashain have returned to their respective workplaces. The village’s charm has disappeared again with them. After those who came for Dashain returned to the city, the village has become deserted, just like the birds that chirp all day long return to their nests in the evening.
Man Bahadur Ghimire of Bagarphant, Beni Municipality-2, Myagdi, who is over 86 years old, enjoyed the five days of Dashain with his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. After his son-in-law, who lives in Pokhara, returned after Dashain, he is alone again. Ghimire, who has been living a single life after the death of his wife, has no shortage of food and expenses. The only shortage is not being with his children. His son and daughter-in-law insist on staying with him in Pokhara, but he cannot leave his hometown and go to Pokhara.
Man Bahadur’s situation is similar to that of 87-year-old Khadga Bahadur Ghimire, 89-year-old Bed Prasad Upadhyay, 101-year-old Khadga Bahadur Thapa, and 79-year-old Tek Bahadur Karki from the same village. Some of their children are working abroad, while others are living with the pain of losing their young sons.
Those who were living in urban areas due to studies, employment, and various other jobs had come to the village to celebrate Dashain. Harikrishna Poudel of Mangala Rural Municipality-2 Ranbang said that the village began to become deserted as people started moving around in a hurry as soon as the festival was over. ‘It was very fun in the village for a few days. “I didn’t realize the day had passed because I was meeting relatives from all over the country and abroad,” he said. “As soon as Dashain ended, those who came to the village started returning. The once cheerful village turned gloomy again.”
It is time to bring in paddy and millet in the rural areas of all six local levels of Myagdi. There are not many people in the village. Due to the shortage of manpower in agriculture, farmers are forced to keep the land fallow. Narayan Sapkota of Beni Municipality-2 says, “There has never been as much fun in the village as during Dashain. As soon as Dashain ended, the village became empty. Now it is difficult to see the young generation in the village. There are no others except the elderly and children.’
Hem Subedi of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-7 Takam said that most of the villagers have migrated to big cities including Pokhara, Kathmandu, Butwal, Chitwan, Beni. Mina Pun of Malika-2 estimates that the migration will decrease if there are quality education, health and communication facilities in the village. Until a decade ago, many people in Malika-5 Devisthan village earned their living by farming. Tek Bahadur Budhamagar of Devisthan said that nowadays all the food they eat has started coming to the market. He says that since many people prefer cities, the village’s agricultural land is filled with deforestation.
There is no shortage of development infrastructure and opportunities in Bagarphant village, which is connected to the headquarters Beni. There are many opportunities here, from business to agriculture, animal husbandry and self-employment. But the local youth are not interested in the many opportunities here. The youth have reached countries such as America, Australia, Japan, Canada and others.
They have reached Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE for foreign employment. The remaining youth are in the city. Local Sunil Thapa said that the village’s excitement was different when five people came from Japan to celebrate Dashain.
Thapa, who returned to the village after living in Japan for nine years, is now doing business in the village. He has passed away. Only 12 youths, including him, are currently in the village. Seven of them are preparing to go for foreign employment. The number of elderly people in the village, aged between 60 and 99, is more than two hundred. There are women and children.
‘The village looks like an old age home, there are no others to be seen except the old people. When someone dies, is sad or sick, there is no one in the village to tell them,’ said 74-year-old Tek Bahadur Karki.
According to the 2078 BS census, the total number of families in the district was 28,830, with a total population of 107,033. According to the 2068 BS census, the total number of families in the district was 27,762, with a total population of 113,641 at that time. Although the number of families has increased in the last census, the population has decreased.
According to the results of the last census, the number of males in the district is 52,153 and the number of females is 54,880. Similarly, the average family size is 3.71 percent, while the sex ratio is 95.03 percent, with males per 100 females.
The population density is 47 people per square kilometer. The annual population growth rate is negative, at ‘minus’ zero.57 percent, according to the Statistics Office, Baglung. Of the total number of families absent from the census (living abroad), 8,320 are out of the total number of families, while the population is 10,766, according to the statistics. Of these, 8,961 are men and 1,805 are women.
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