Internet service installed in Kharpunath Rural Municipality–1, Lali, has been disrupted for the past week, affecting online services provided by the ward office. Due to the internet outage, registration-related services such as birth registration, death registration, marriage registration, migration, and other civil registration services have come to a halt.
According to Ward Chair Jaybahadur Shahi of Ward No. 1, local residents have been forced to travel to the rural municipality center at Yangchu Bazaar even for basic administrative work. He stated that it takes around a three-hour walk to reach the center.
“Although the necessary environment for service delivery exists in the ward, all work has stopped due to the lack of internet,” Chair Shahi said. “Despite repeatedly informing the concerned authorities to resolve the problem, there has been no response so far.”
Local resident Padam Bahadur Shahi complained that service seekers are further burdened as they are required to return to the ward office for signatures after completing registration work at the municipality office.
Locals have also reported that the Namaste tower located at Thanagaun, Raya in Kharpunath Rural Municipality–3 has been out of service for the past week. Due to the tower being non-operational, communication services in the area have also been affected. Locals said that although Nepal Telecom, Simikot, has been informed about the issue, no necessary action has been taken so far.
Ward Chair Shahi stated that the disruption of both internet and communication services has affected not only administrative work but also the daily lives of residents. Locals have said that due to negligence from concerned authorities, more than 5,000 service seekers from Ward 1, 2, and 3 of Kharpunath Rural Municipality have been deprived of services. They have demanded immediate repair and regular operation of the disrupted internet and communication services.