Baglung Candidates Focus on Infrastructure Pledges Over Voter Demands Ahead of Elections

Baglung. As the election on Falgun 21 approaches, candidates here are busy releasing their manifestos and trying to woo voters. The demands and needs of the voters are simple, but the candidates have released manifestos filled with promises.

Voters from the city to the villages are seeking clean drinking water, employment, quality education nearby, and healthcare. However, the candidates' manifestos seem different from the voters' demands.

Looking at the manifestos of the candidates for Baglung-1, they resemble the annual policy and program of the government. The main responsibility of a parliamentarian is policy formulation. But the manifestos released by the candidates here contain fewer policy-making plans and more plans for infrastructure construction.

Plans to Construct Tunnel and Dedicated Road

CPN-UML candidate Hirabahadur KC has included a plan in his manifesto to study the feasibility of the Akshate-Galakot tunnel route. He stated that a tunnel route is necessary as an alternative because the Bihun section, which falls in Ward 5 and 6 of Kathekhola Rural Municipality on the Mid-Hill Highway, is winding.

He announced plans to pave the under-construction ring road connecting Baglung Municipality and Kathekhola Rural Municipality, and to expedite the completion of the Baglung-Burtibang section of the Mid-Hill Highway. He also mentioned connecting all wards of the municipality with paved roads and developing Balewa as a center for import and export.

KC's manifesto includes plans to make areas like Baglung Bazaar, Paiyupata, Kushmisera, Khahare, Akshate Bihun, etc., commercial centers. The manifesto mentions the plan to make the Baglung-Myagdi road a 'Two Lane Dedicated' road.

For tourism promotion, he stated that infrastructure will be built for cycling routes from Baglung Bazaar to Balewa Airport, Bhairavsthan Bhakunde, Ghorabanthe, Tangram, Bhimpokhara, and up to Panchakot, and necessary infrastructure will be built in tourist areas. He mentioned building mini zoos in places like Malika.

He said, "Baglung, situated at the confluence of the Mid-Hill Highway and the Kaligandaki Corridor, has many opportunities. We must seize these opportunities. Now, it is necessary to make the Balewa area a center for import and export and places like Ghorabanthe, Khahare, Akshate commercial centers; I have prioritized this."

Plan to Make an IT Hub and Provide 12,000 Jobs

Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Sushil Khadka has mentioned in his promise letter a plan to make Baglung an IT hub and provide employment to 12,000 people in five years. He stated that he would arrange for the opening of a teaching hospital with MBBS studies in Baglung and ensure quality school education in every village and higher education in Baglung.

His promise letter mentions completely freeing education from politics and making the curriculum skill-based and technology-oriented. Plans covering agricultural modernization, industry, education, and infrastructure development are included. He stated that he would bring radical changes to the standard of living of farmers through modernization, commercialization, and marketing in the agricultural sector.

Khadka stated that he would manage one agricultural technician per ward and arrange for special tax exemptions for operating micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. He mentioned that he would take initiative to quickly complete the remaining sections of the Mid-Hill Highway and Kaligandaki Corridor and create employment by implementing an integrated, scientific, and environmentally friendly model for solid waste management.

Khadka stated that government services would be digitized for speed, efficiency, and transparency, and unnecessary infrastructure like view towers and gates would not be built. The promise letter mentions an economic policy that encourages entrepreneurs and makes it a state priority, arranging for processing, cold storage, and warehousing for local agricultural products, and setting a scientific and appropriate support price for farmers' produce.

He said, "Our plan is to run the local economy by prioritizing environmentally friendly sectors in the next 5 years and creating 12,000 jobs targeted at youth and women in Baglung, and 1.2 million across Nepal."

Policy to Control Monkeys and Produce Cannabis

Nepali Congress candidate Bhim Shrees has mentioned in his pledge letter the commitment to formulate effective policies to control and manage the menace of monkey terror and agricultural-damaging wildlife. He stated that the number of people migrating from villages is increasing due to monkey terror.

Shrees stated that he would create necessary policies and laws to increase citizens' income generation through the medicinal commercial production of cannabis and the commercial production of local liquor. His pledge letter mentions initiatives for the feasibility study of the Akshate-Galakot tunnel route and the development of alternative transport infrastructure, along with the conservation of natural resources and environment and the regulation of mining and mineral excavation.

His pledge letter includes plans related to health, education, employment, agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, and culture. Shrees stated that he would facilitate the upgrading of the Dhaulagiri Provincial Hospital to provide specialized services to citizens and the prompt operation of nursing studies approved by the provincial government through policy reforms. His pledge letter mentions systematizing school education through a federal education act.

He emphasized the formulation of policies for constructing the Kalika Multipurpose Stadium in Baglung's Bangechaur, constructing other sports infrastructure, and providing training materials and incentives. The transformation towards a productive economy based on knowledge, skills, and innovation using information technology, and the cultural renaissance of Baglung Bazaar, are mentioned in Shrees's pledge letter.

He stated that he would take initiative for policy and practical reforms to create a suitable environment for channeling knowledge, experience, and capital acquired abroad into the country's development, and develop digital services, simple administration, and citizen-friendly service systems to broaden the base of income generation, job creation, and revenue expansion.

He mentioned branding organic products like the powder of Butte Nali Sisno, and conserving and promoting local folk songs like Salaijo, Maruni, Salaijo, Jhamre, Chatka, Panchebaja, Bhajan, and Ratyouli. Shrees stated that he would play a role in returning the savings of depositors affected by the problems and planned fraud seen in the cooperative sector.

He shared that he would take decisive intervention to complete the construction work of the Mid-Hill Highway and Kaligandaki Corridor as soon as possible and take initiative to create economic opportunities based on both routes. Shrees mentioned policy arrangements to provide concessional loans for 25 years to youth who want to start enterprises. He stated that he would promote clean energy and quality electricity facilities, along with expanding information and communication services, while identifying and developing new areas alongside the promotion and development of important tourist areas.

He said, "We must formulate policies based on what are the basic needs of the citizens? What are their demands? Many existing laws have not become citizen-friendly; they need to be amended. We must work for citizens who do not receive minimum services and facilities."