Residents of Baddijyawan, one of the remote villages in Bangul Municipality, Bajhang, are compelled to walk for a whole day to reach the nearest health post.

“There are no medicals in our village. We have to go to Khauladhar, a nearby village, to receive treatment,” said Suresh Dhami, a local. He added that seriously ill people have to be carried for the long journey to health post.

The village consists of 50 households, mainly from Dhami and Bohara communities.

Dhana Bohara, a local woman, said that pregnant women and newborns have to face a lot of problems due to a lack of health facility in the village.

“Pregnant women have to be carried on stretchers when they start their labour,” she said.

“Some of them deliver on their way to the health post, whereas some die for want of treatment.”

Even the newborns are deprived of immunisation services, she added.

In fact, the majority of villagers said they have not vaccinated their children.

“People do not want to walk the whole day just to vaccinate their children. They do not have any awareness on the importance of vaccination,” said Deumali Bohara, a local.

Most of them rely on shamans when they fall sick. Pratap Dhami, a local, said only when the illness is serious do the villagers visit the health post.

Most of the Baddijyawan residents believe the government has neglected them.

“Our village has no health post, school or even roads,” said Dhami. “Representatives only remember us during elections.”

The population of Baddijyawan is around 2,000. Mayor of Bangul Municipality Dhan Bahadur Bista said, “The municipal office is going to establish a community heath unit in Paribagar soon. Residents of Baddijyawan will benefit from it.”