Panchthar, Nov 24

Rabindra Kafle The locals in Panchthar and Ilam districts have been heavily saddened when they could not welcome Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli due to bad weather.

PM Oli was scheduled to fly to these districts on Monday but despite the repeated attempts to fly there, the helicopter carrying the PM could not reach. The locals in Ilam were desperate to share how much difficulties they were facing in the bordering place with India. They claim that the Indian side had been encroaching Nepal’s land and were disrupting the construction of touristic infrastructure in Nepal side. Nupu Sherpa of Sandakpur Rural Municipality-5 of Ilam district had been eagerly preparing to welcome the PM for a week.

Hundreds of Sandakpur Rural Municipality folks and adjoining rural municipalities were also impatiently looking forward to the PM’s visit at Jaubari in Sandakpur-5 scheduled at 12 noon. On Monday, the locals were braving the biting cold and mist just to catch a glimpse of the Head of the Government as well as to apprise the PM of the issues they are facing in the remote areas in the district. Much to their dismay, Chief of District Coordination Committee, Ilam, Ganesh Baral, on the behalf of the organizers, informed them about the inability of PM’s visit. Minister for Internal Affairs and Law of Province 1, Hikmat Kumar Karki, had held a telephone talk with Prime Minister Oli and he also shared that the PM could not visit their place despite having an earnest will.

Minister Karki extended his sorrow that he could not help make the PM’s visit a success but pledged that he would come there soon again with the PM. Earlier, PM Oli was scheduled to fly Panchthar and Ilam on 20 and 22 November respectively, but the programme at Jaubari was postponed till Monday. During the visit, he was to carry out an aerial inspection of Sandakpur adjoining India, inspecting the Armed Police Force’s Border Outpost set up at Jaubari and take stock of the issues facing the locals in those places among others.

PM Oli along with Nepal Communist Party’s parliamentary party’s deputy leader Subash Nembang, Chief Minister of State No 1 Sherdhan Rai among others were scheduled to address the event but the bad weather played spoilsport in all these events.