Karnali Corridor Blocked Due to Humla-Bajura Border Dispute

Dhangadhi. The Karnali corridor has been completely blocked for three days due to the border dispute between Humla and Bajura. Hundreds of vehicles carrying food grains and construction materials and passengers are stranded after locals in Bajura blocked the road in Dhulachaur, Himli Rural Municipality-1, Bajura. The lives of the people there have been affected by the road closure. Local representatives of both districts with border disputes blame each other. A situation of mutual accusation has arisen between the representatives of the two districts. Himli Rural Municipality Chairman Govinda Malla of Bajura accused Humla's hooliganism as the main cause of the dispute. He said that the dispute started after a group of about two hundred people from Kharpunath, Humla, demolished the structure while starting the construction of a police post in Lampata, Himli Rural Municipality-3, with the budget of the Sudurpaschim Provincial Government. 'When we went for monitoring, when we went to the Ranisain tourist area, an attempt was made to attack me and the mayor of Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City, locals from Bajura were held hostage and beaten for three days by people from Humla. Even though arrest warrants were issued against 24 people, the Humla administration did not arrest the culprits, so a decision was made to close the road after an all-party meeting in Bajura,' he said. Chairman Malla also claimed that the Humla side opposed the establishment of the police post to facilitate the smuggling of herbs and wildlife. 'Smugglers do not want police to be stationed in this area. We want peace and security,' he said. On the other hand, Kharpunath Rural Municipality Chairman Karna Rawal of Humla claimed that Bajura is encroaching on Humla's land and trying to build structures forcefully. He said that trying to place a police post on Humla's land unilaterally without agreement and negotiation is an act of coercion. 'Even though the Humla side informed through the CDO repeatedly, it was ignored. If the technical team says that land belongs to Bajura, we are ready to give it up, but we cannot be encroached upon forcefully,' Rawal said. With the dispute escalating, security personnel have been deployed in the disputed area under the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to Chairman Malla, a team of 21 armed police and 7 civil police has been deployed in the Lampata and Gumba areas. The Chief District Officer of Humla, Tekraj Regmi, informed that an all-party and all-stakeholder meeting is being held in Bajura to open the road. He said that blocking the road is illegal and it obstructs essential services. The Bajura side has taken the stance of not opening the road until the culprits are arrested, while the Humla side has said that blocking the road and causing trouble to the general public is the height of statelessness. A high-level committee headed by Sushil Dangol, Deputy Director General of the Survey Department, is conducting a technical study of the border to resolve the border dispute between Bajura and Humla. Although both sides have to wait until the committee's report is submitted, the tension at the local level has caused hardship to thousands of citizens traveling on the Karnali corridor. Locals have urged to open the road immediately and resolve the dispute by coordinating between the administrations of both districts. The District Police Office Bajura, DSP Shaileshwari Bohara, informed that the Bajura police are trying to open the blocked road. 'The Karnali corridor will be built, we are working on it. Efforts are being made to create a conducive environment,' she said. The border dispute problem came to light on May 3rd when the Bajura administration proposed to build a police post building in Lampata, and the locals of Humla objected. Currently, there is a dispute between Bajura and Humla, with both claiming that the land from Lampata to Ranisain belongs to them. Bajura claims this area falls under Himli Rural Municipality-3. Humla claims it falls under Kharpunath Rural Municipality-2 and 3. Laxmi Gurung, a resident of Lampata, said that locals from Humla threaten them by saying 'this is our land'. Her family has been living there for more than three generations. 'We have land ownership certificates from Bajura, citizenship. We have all the evidence,' she said. She said that she is in trouble because Humla claims the land she has been cultivating as its own. According to the local representatives there, there are two main reasons behind the escalation of this dispute between Humla and Bajura – herb collection and security presence. According to Ward Chairman Mangal Budha of Himli Rural Municipality-3, this area is a storehouse of herbs like Yarsagumba, Jatamasi, and Katuki. Also, this route is one of the shortest routes from Humla to Taklakot in China. Residents of Humla have been collecting herbs from here for years. When the police post was prepared to be established there, the people of Humla feared that herb collection would be stopped after the police were stationed, and they would lose their source of income. 'We have been trying to make Ranisain a tourist area since 2074 BS. When 4 million rupees were allocated for the police post, they did not allow the work to be done. They had never claimed this land as theirs before. They did this because they saw a security challenge when the work to build the police post started,' said Chairman Budha. Locals of Humla claim that the land from Lampata to Ranisain belongs to them and there is no reason to dispute it. Kharpunath Rural Municipality Chairman Karna Rawal said that the border dispute should be resolved by the government. Although there is some coldness in the relationship between Bajura and Humla due to the current border dispute, there is a very deep social relationship between the people of these two districts. To go to Bajura, one has to step on Humla's land, and to go to Humla, one cannot go without stepping on Bajura's land. The Karnali corridor touches both these districts. There is also a relationship between the daughters-in-law and sons-in-law of Bajura and Humla. Both these districts are dependent on each other. Rima Budha of Himli Rural Municipality-3 said that the locals of Bajura are suffering due to the closure of the Karnali corridor after the clash due to the border dispute. After the Lampata incident, the Chief District Officer of Bajura, Dorendra Niroula, said that security has been tightened in coordination with the central government. There is a heavy presence of security personnel in the Lampata area now. The Ministry of Home Affairs has formed a task force involving representatives from Karnali Province and Sudurpaschim Province, which will study the historical documents, land ownership certificates, and survey maps of both districts. 'Only after the team collects evidence from both sides and submits a report will the final decision on the border be made. Until then, we have urged everyone to exercise restraint. Efforts are being made to open the road,' Niroula said. Ranisain is the eastern base camp of Mount Saipal. In recent times, this place has been gaining attention for being very beautiful from a tourism perspective. It is at an altitude of 3500 meters. Locals of Bajura and Humla want a permanent solution to this dispute, said Himal Rokaya of Himli Rural Municipality.