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As many as 2,438 households from Nisikhola Rural Municipality in Baglung are in imminent threat of landslides and floods.

The households settled near the river and streams, roads and sloppy lands are facing the disaster risks.

Ward-1 out of seven wards at Nishikhola has the highest number of houses facing the threat. There are 920 households in the villages like Huldi, Lebang Kiteni and Swar, according to rural municipality chair Surya Bahadur Ghartimagar.     

Locals said that they were facing the recurring landslides since 2074BS. The data managed by the rural municipality said ward-2 has 207 such households while ward- 3 has 140, ward- 4 has 400, ward-5 has 170, ward- 6 has 31, and ward- 7 has 570. 

The entire village has developed huge long cracks, but they were forced to stay there for not having any alternatives, said Hum Kumari Malla from Huldi. 

A huge landslide occurred a decade back in the middle of the village still panics people because the landslides are continuous. The landslide that took a huge toll initially has resulted in multiple fissures and depressions in the villages.

Malla shared the plight, "All three tiers of government are informed about such problems, but our plight went unheard."

Padam Bahadur BK from Nisikhola-2 said they were desperate to leave the village for safer locations but had no option. 

When it rains heavily, they are compelled to leave homes with chattels. 

He also complained why the government was indifferent to their gross state.

Financial constraint has barred him from migrating to the Tarai region, according to him.

The Buddhist civilization of Gandhara (3 BCE onwards), now cradled primarily in the northern areas of Pakistan, beckons the world to visit its grand sites and study its unparalleled and magnificent past.

And it seems that almost every few years, an archaeological find of epic proportion in Gandhara brings renewed attention to this historic culture. One such find has been dubbed the Buddhist equivalent of the Jewish “Dead Sea Scrolls” of Gandhara. It is a coincidence that they both date from roughly the same time period in history.

Recently, I was fortunate to meet an extraordinary individual, Dr Mark Allon, of the University of Sydney. Whereas many of us have been promoting Gandharan heritage of Pakistan to the world, focusing on the historic sites, stupas, monasteries, art and sculptures, etc., unbeknownst to us, there is an even more unique facet of this heritage which is unparalleled and cannot be overstated.

This facet is the focus of the work of Dr Allon and his colleagues and it has to do with the preservation and translation of Buddhist manuscripts discovered in the recent past in Pakistan. 

Notably, these manuscripts are in Gandhari and Sanskrit. Sadly, the earlier discoveries of these historic manuscripts found their way into collections in Britain, Europe, North America, and Japan via the antiquities trade, a terrible loss of cultural heritage to the descendants of ancient Gandharans who produced them (Allon 2022). It should become a national endeavor to have these returned to Pakistan, or at a minimum, have them electronically documented and preserved in a library focusing on Gandharan literature. There are many well-wishers who would support this including the visionary Abbot MV Arayawangso of Thailand, and the incomparable Chief Abbess, MV Jue Cheng of Malaysia. But I digress.

The aforementioned manuscripts that Dr. Allon et al are working on are birch bark scrolls containing texts in Gandhari language and Kharoshthi script. They date from 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE. Hence they represent the oldest Buddhist and South Asian manuscripts yet discovered. Long have Taxila and Gandhara been touted as the first seat of learning – the first university - in the world! Now, we have proof that Gandhara indeed gave birth to the oldest Buddhist writings and manuscripts. More importantly, these scrolls appear to be of local compositions rather than texts translated into Gandhari from works composed elsewhere. So these stories, texts and scripts are wholly and truly from this region—original thoughts and verses of Gandharan Buddhism.

Beyond conservation and translation of the manuscripts, Dr Allon’s initiative is also creating curatorial facilities for the conserved manuscripts at the Islamabad Museum. They will also train local conservators which will enable Pakistan to conserve other manuscripts. Finally, the collection will enable Dr Allon and his colleagues to train Pakistani students to study these ancient languages by establishing full Gandhari and Sanskrit language teaching programs at local universities. Imagine, young Pakistanis learning the languages of their forefathers from 2000 years ago!

In a further phase of this project, these manuscripts will be published and made available for a worldwide audience, as well as local communities. This will include making select materials available in Urdu and Pashto. These publications will generate further interest in Gandhara and will take forward Pakistan’s ambitions to create a Gandharan pilgrimage based mega-tourism sector which could generate $30bn in income for Pakistan.

Neither an academic, nor a particularly couth individual, I was yet awestruck looking at these 2000 year old fragile pieces of bark with beautiful writing on them. The writing was delicate and flowing, and some manuscripts showed small figures of Lord Buddha used within the text as some kind of punctuation. While witnessing the painstaking work that these guests of Pakistan (Mark from Australia, Mary from Boston, and Vania from Portugal) were doing to preserve the history of Pakistan for generations to come, I wondered if we could challenge the many collectors in the world who have taken manuscripts, artifacts and arts of Gandhara into their collections.

What if they were to create proper private museums established with official assistance and display the private collections to share with the world? Otherwise, the private “collectors” would enjoy these monuments to history for a very finite time and who knows if their descendants would even care about these private collections. They will probably end up being cast aside or discarded over the years to come. 

A dry landslide that occurred at Bimire Bhanjyang in Madhyanepal Municipality-10 along the Mid Hill Highway this morning has completely disrupted the road. 

Police said that there is no situation right now to remove the debris with the landslide continuing. 

Vehicles to and from Pokhara are being operated via the alternative routes of Kaure, Bangre and Chautara of Thansing Danda after the road disruption. 

Police Inspector at the Area Police Office, Bhorletar, Yam Narayan Aryal, informed that it may take time to clear the landslide debris. 

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development of Sudurpaschim Province has constructed 355 kilometers of roads over the past year. According to data released by the office of Minister Surendra Bahadur Pal, the total includes blacktopped, gravel, and earthen roads completed during the fiscal year 2024/25.

Despite limited resources and manpower, the ministry also completed six road bridges, 85 multi-year plans, and 26.83 kilometers of embankments, which have helped conserve 37.5 hectares of land. The ministry has also finalized the Regional Road Network Master Plan, which outlines the development of 70 provincial highways, 119 auxiliary roads, and 190 roads serving special purposes.

In the drinking water sector, the ministry emphasized major improvements. A total of 841 intakes, 516 water ponds, 2,133 kilometers of pipelines, and four deep tube wells were installed, providing water to 11,939 households. So far, 173 water supply projects have been completed, benefitting 83,585 people with basic water services and 19,287 with medium-level services.

In partnership with the federal and local governments, the ministry is advancing the “Drinking Water Governance and Infrastructure Support Project,” with an estimated investment of Rs 13.38bn. A cost-sharing agreement has been signed with Dipayal Silgadhi Municipality, and Bardagoria, Joshipur, and Janaki rural municipalities.

In the energy and irrigation sector, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for the Upper Surnayagad and Naugad Hydroelectric Projects have been prepared. The new irrigation initiatives will irrigate 1,682 hectares of land, while repairs to older systems have ensured irrigation for an additional 13,947 hectares. Additionally, 32 new deep tube wells have been installed.

To support underprivileged communities, the ministry constructed 110 public housing units, 10 playgrounds, three parks, two covered halls, and six government buildings. Furthermore, the second amendment draft of the Sudurpaschim Province Vehicle and Transportation Management Regulations 2025 has been approved. Revenue from the transportation office alone has reached Rs 1.71bn.