Over 55 village development committees (VDCs) in the district now have access to earthen road, extending 1,047 km in total. This has opened the floodgates for villagers to ferry their products to the market.[break]
As a result, number of small industries that manufacture grillworks, bricks, furniture, soap, candy, bags and handicraft products made of paper, Dhaka, allo, bamboo and lapsi fruit, is increasing in the district, while other units such as poultry firm, commercial agriculture firms and rice mills are also doing brisk business.
With the expansion of road network, villages such as Devisthan, Madikuwa, Pang, Khurkot, Chuwa and Shivalaya have seen rise in the number of brick kilns. People in villages such as Banau, Shalija Kyang and Halhale, on the other hand, have started collecting lokta to manufacture Nepali handmade paper. Others in Shankhar Pokhari, Bajung, Khaula Lakuri, Panrang, Bachha and Pang have started vegetable farming and animal husbandry at commercial level.
As people have started embracing business for a living, Parbat district saw opening of 162 cottage industries last fiscal year which ended on July 15. These industries produced goods worth Rs 121.8 million and have drawn investment of around Rs 97 million, according to Rishikesh Adhikari, an official of Office of Cottage Industries, Parbat. “This has given a boost to income of people here,” he said.
Now, people have started making money through barren land as well by operating brick kilns there. These bricks have not only found market in the district but are exported to districts as far as Myagdi and Baglung.
Others have opened small grill industries to tap the potential of the growing construction sector, while small industries that manufacture textile, bags and coat have also started dotting the area.
Ventures such as these, in turn, have helped jobless youths find employment in their own locality.
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