Twenty years ago, Darchula District Development Committee submitted a survey report to a government ministry for suspension bridge construction over Mahakali River to connect Tigram and Lali villages. The committee had hoped to get the ministry’s support to construct the bridge, but the support never came.

“They didn’t even respond,” said Shekharchandar Badu, an engineer at the District Technical Office.

A lot of things have changed in Darchula in the last two decades. The only thing that remains the same is the way the people in the district get across Mahakali. Till this day the people rely on wire crossings (Tuins) or rubber tubes to get across Mahakali.

“If we were to build a suspension bridge today, we have to run another survey. The landscape of the region has changed a lot, particularly after the 2013 flood in Mahakali,” said Badu.

When Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli took office in October last year, he had announced to replace all existing Tuins in the country with bridges. The proclamation raised the hopes of only a few people in Darchula. The promise of suspension 

bridges is what politicians have been peddling to win votes during elections. Most people in Darchula know this very well. “We have heard this story over and over again during election time. It ends after the election,” said Umeshraj Bhatta, a Tigram local. 

“As for us, we go about our daily business, which includes crossing Mahakali on Tuins and tubes.”