After the arrival of the jeep, locals bought two he-goats collecting Rs 11,000 from among them and organized a feast. [break]
Said 85-year-old Ram Bahadur Thapa, ”Who wouldn´t be happy when a vehicle arrives at a forest where rabbits run amok? I had never imagined that this would happen.”
Villagers, like Ram Bahadur, who had gathered to welcome the vehicle, were overwhelmed with happiness. The realization that the road connectivity has opened up market access to local produce apart from making it easy to commute to towns and cities has left the villagers deeply pleased.
"Now the vegetable produce of my garden will easily reach Birendranagar,” said Pushpa Thapa, a local. Her produce had been going to waste in the village so far.
The 13-kilometer road from Masina to Chepang was built with financial contributions of Rs 500,000 from the District Development Committee, Rs 400,000 from the Village Development Committee and Rs 11,000 from the Kalila Community Forest. Each household contributed 25 days of voluntary labor for the road construction. There are 50 households in Chepang village.
Villagers started settling in the village in 1969 AD. Before Sunday, villagers had to walk for four hours to reach the Karnali Highway. With vehicles reaching the village, villagers can cover the distance in just one hour.
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