Baglung. The residents of Jurgaghat of Tamankhola will now be able to charge mobile phones from solar in the lake. Locals of Gurjaghat in Tamankhola Rural Municipality-1 and 2 have no electricity supply to their houses. The locals here are still dependent on the light of the lamps.

Even if the people of this area have a population of more than five hundred, they have to come to the villages around the rural municipality center to charge their mobile phones. It takes about two days on foot to reach here.

Most of the people of the rural municipality go to Gurjaghat during the rainy season as they are involved in animal husbandry. More than two hundred families of Tamankhola have started climbing Ghurjaghat from the month of Jeth.

They stay in the lake (Ghurjghat) during the rainy season and come down to Besi (village) only in the month of October÷October. It has become their tradition to fall as the cold starts in September. But five families live in Gurjaghat permanently. More than 25,000 sheep are being reared in the Gurja region alone. The locals also rear cows and buffaloes. Not only the locals and shepherds, tourists reaching there via Dhorpatan were also facing problems in charging their mobile phones.

Joklal Budha Magar, chairperson of Tamankhola Rural Municipality, said that the rural municipality has installed four solar panels from the budget allocated for the current fiscal year. According to him, the rural municipality had installed solar panels last week at the cost of around two lakh rupees.

Chairman Budha Magar said, “People of Tamankhola have been living in Ghurjaghat for many years, especially during the rainy season and there was a problem for people to make telephone as they are away from their families. ’

The Nepal Army has a camp at Gurja Ghat, which is adjacent to the Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve and Dhaulagiri rural municipality of Myagdi. In some cases, the locals had to go to the army camp and charge their mobile phones.

Executive member of the rural municipality, Dhalendra Chhantyal, said that he is also a sheep rearer and he has to stay away from the communications of the people living in Gurja Ghat and it has become easier after the solar panel could be used to charge mobile phones. The rural municipality has installed solar panels at the house of Lok Bahadur Chhantyal, who has been living permanently in Jurgaghat. Lok Bahadur has also been given the responsibility of its maintenance and conservation.