MYAGDI:- Candidates contesting from Myagdi in the 2026 House of Representatives (HoR) election have recognised the need to make a policy intervention to ensure the implementation of the government’s declaration recognizing Myagdi as a mountainous district their main election agenda.

Although the government officially listed Myagdi as a ‘mountainous district’ seven years ago by amending some Acts of Nepal, the declaration has yet to be fully implemented in the absence the amendment of relevant laws.

On March 3, 2019, the government published a notice in the Nepal Gazette designating Myagdi as the country’s 21st mountainous district. However, due to the lack of implementation, the district, its projects, and local levels have been unable to access budgets and grants allocated for mountainous districts. Teachers and government employees have also been deprived of the additional facilities and benefits provided to staff serving in mountain districts.

Recognizing these challenges, election candidates have emphasized the urgent need to enforce the declaration.

Nepali Congress candidate Karna Bahadur Bhandari said that, alongside implementing the mountainous district status, improving public service delivery in Myagdi is equally important.

Similarly, a CPN (UML) candidate Hari Krishna Shrestha said that failure to implement the declaration has negatively affected development efforts and public service delivery in the district.

Nepali Communist Party candidate Arjun Thapa added that delays in development projects and the reluctance of employees to work in the district are also consequences of the government’s failure to enforce the announcement.

Likewise, independent candidate Mahabir Pun emphasized the implementation of criteria recognizing Myagdi as a mountainous district, stating that such a move is essential to realize balanced development.

Pun observed that teachers and civil employees show little interest in working in the district’s high-altitude areas due to the lack of additional financial incentives and performance evaluation points granted to employees serving in designated mountainous districts.

He said that development plans and budgets for Myagdi are currently formulated on the basis of standards applied to more accessible regions.

As a result, he argued that the allocated funds often appear inadequate, leaving development projects incomplete or stalled and placing an additional financial burden on citizens and local governments to carry them out.

He noted that the public offices in the district frequently face staff shortages as many positions remain vacant due to insufficient facilities, benefits and proper performance evaluation mechanisms.

Similarly, Jhak Bahadur Chhantyal, ward chairperson of Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality-1 mentioned that settlements near mountains are classified as hilly region which means the local residents of rural villages in Myagdi are deprived of the facilities that the State provides to other mountainous districts since the settlements near mountains are classified as hilly region.

He informed that places such as Mudi, Gurja, Malkawang, Kuinemangale of Raghuganga, Chimkhola and Narchyang of Annapurna along with the parts of Sikha are connected to the mountains.

He further shared that from the seventh highest mountain in the world- Mt Dhaulagiri I (8,167 m) to Mt Daulagiri VI as well as Manapathi, Gurja, Churen, Putha, Mt Annapurna I, Baraha peak and south and east face of Nilgiri mountain fall within the Myagdi’s territory.

Candidates from 11 political parties and an independent candidate are competing in the upcoming election from Myagdi that has 45 wards across six local levels.

The major contenders include Bhandari of the Nepali Congress, Shrestha of CPN (UML), Thapa of the Nepali Communist Party and independent candidate Pun.

Although Yubaraj Roka of the Rastriya Swatantra Party remains in the race, he has publicly announced his support for Pun.

Other candidates in the fray are Dambar Bahadur Subedi of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Chettra Bahadur Ghimire of CPN (Maoist), Devendra Kami of the Pragatishil Lokatantrik Party, Binod Rana of the Shram Sanskriti Party, Chem Bahadur Bishwokarma of Rastriya Janamorcha, Bhim Bahadur Lama of the Mangol National Organization and Tul Prasad Gajurba of National Republican Nepal.

All of these candidates have made implementation of the declaration to recognize Myagdi as a mountainous district their top election agenda.

There are altogether 86,397 voters registered in Myagdi with 82 polling stations and 120 polling centres set up for the upcoming March 5 election. (RSS)