Construction Begins on Road Linking Hindi Village to Major Religious Tourist Site in Myagdi

Myagdi. Construction has begun on a road connecting Hindi in Mangala Rural Municipality-2 to Malika Dhuri, a major religious tourist destination in Myagdi.

The project aims to connect Hindi to Malika via Surti Chadhane Danda, Gidre Deurali, and Dhaulakharka, reaching Jogi Deurali at the foothills of Malika, through a partnership between Mangala Rural Municipality and the residents of Hindi.

The construction of the Hindi-Malika road project, initiated with a budget of Rs 2.1 million allocated by Mangala Rural Municipality in the current fiscal year, is being sustained by the villagers through fundraising. Thamprasad Pun, Chairman of the Consumer Committee for the Hindi-Malika road project, informed that the alignment for 2.5 kilometers of the road from Hindi to Surti Chadhane Danda has been opened using the municipality's budget.

"Even though the budget allocated by the rural municipality has been exhausted, we have continued the road construction from Surti Chadhane Danda towards Gidre Deurali by collecting donations from the villagers," he said. "An additional one kilometer of road alignment has been opened from Surti Chadhane Danda to Dhaulakharka. The road will reach Gidre Deurali after constructing an additional 500 meters of alignment."

The residents of Hindi plan to extend the road up to Jogi Deurali by collecting Rs 1.8 million in donations. According to Chairman Pun, Rs 600,000 in donations has been secured for the first phase, which connects the road to Gidre Deurali. A fundraising campaign is underway, considering the section from Surti Chadhane Danda to Gidre Deurali as the first phase and Gidre Deurali to Jogi Deurali as the second phase.

Chairman Pun stated that the fundraising campaign is being conducted among the residents of Hindi, as well as those living abroad or in various parts of the country for work and employment.

It is reported that once vehicles can travel up to Jogi Deurali, the journey from Beni via Hindi to Malika can be completed in four hours. Currently, it takes four to five hours to reach Malika from Hindi on foot. The residents of Hindi claim that with transportation facilities, the travel time will be reduced to two hours, making this road the shortest route connecting Beni to Malika.

Road access has already reached the foothills of Malika from two directions: from Darbang, the center of Malika Rural Municipality, via Bim Baindfant, and from Thadakhani of Raghuganga Rural Municipality. Malika, situated at an altitude of 3,400 meters above sea level, lies on the border of Malika and Raghuganga Rural Municipalities.

From here, one can observe more than a dozen peaks of the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna ranges, as well as the sunrise, sunset, hilly terrain, and forests. It is a popular belief that wishes are fulfilled at this temple, where special worship and rituals are held on Chandi, Jestha, and Kartik Purnima. Malika, which has a history of worship dating back to 1910 BS, houses idols of Kalika, Malika, and Jalpadevi.