Its distance to the gewog office is to blame 

ICT: Located at Bichgaon, the community centre (CC) building of Nichula gewog in Lhamoizingkha, Dagana is a welcome sight for travellers. As it is located between the villages of Daragaon and Alley-Katarey, this centre was constructed keeping in mind optimum utilisation.

However, after two years of initiation, the centre is aging without seeing villagers using its services.

The centre’s operator Laghuman Gurung attributed the low usage, unlike the other two centres in the dungkhag, to distance from the gewog office.

“The main reason is that the gewog office is far from the centre,” the operator said, explaining it would take about at least an hour to walk to the gup’s office that is located in Alley-Katarey.

Laghuman Gurung remembers collecting about Nu 250 in a month. The highest he minted from the centre was Nu 700.

The dungkhag’s centres in the Karmaling and Lhamoizingkha gewogs, are attached with the gewog office. Those who visit the gewog office for official work avail all services from the centres.

Nichula centre, like any other centre across the country is equipped with two desktops and other machines used for photocopying, printing, laminating, and binding. It also has internet connection.

However, internet connectivity, it was found was slow.

Another reason on the centre remaining under utilised most of the time is the population of Bichgaon, which is lower than that of Alley-Katarey’s. Further, only few villagers from Daragaon come to avail services in emergencies.

With scattered villages in Daragaon and because of its closer proximity towards the town, people hardly come to Bichgaon.

A villager in Bichgaon, Garjaman Karki, said road accessibility is the main problem why people do not visit the CC. Citing villages like Soletar and Katarey, which is located about an hour’s walk away, he said it is easier for the public to go to the main town.

“Even if people had vehicles, the road condition is bad,” Garjaman Karki said, adding that should the gewog office get established in Bichgaon, people would automatically flock to this area.

Budhiman Rai of Daragaon village said he comes only when he has work at Alley-Katarey, where the current gup’s office is situated. “Otherwise, I do not come,” he said.

However, things will change soon. Some metres away from the centre, a gewog office is being constructed.

It is 4pm in the evening and the centre is empty. It has been more than four days now that the centre has not received any citizens looking to avail its services.

Laghuman Gurung gathers his belongings to leave the centre.

Rajesh Rai, Kalikhola