Jumla: The land-related dispute has halted the construction of the Karnali High Altitude Training Centre planned at Lauthchaur of Patarasi rural municipality-3 in the district. The project has not begun as the land for it could not be acquired on time.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the dispute surfaced over whether the Centre could be set up on the land of a school or somewhere else, as stated by the Chairman of the rural municipality, Purna Singh Bohara. He mentioned that the construction would be initiated soon after holding an all-party meeting with the coordination of the District Administration Office. The High Altitude Centre could be constructed on some part of the land belonging to the school, he added.
However, Vice Chairperson Janmaya Rokaya expressed concerns that the budget allocated by the government might remain unused due to the ongoing land dispute. The Centre was envisioned to develop Lauthchaur as a sports city in one of the highest altitudes in the world, according to Rokaya.
The locals from ward no 3 of Patarasi Rural Municipality had committed to providing voluntary support, and Rs 30 million in government funds has already been spent on the project. Meanwhile, Ward Chairperson Govind Rawat informed that the process for acquiring the land was nearing completion.
A total of Rs 62.0 million has been allocated in the current budget for constructing the sports training centre, which needs to be utilized within this year with the project’s completion. Chandra Bahadur Khadka, an information officer at the Local Infrastructure Development Project at Surkhet, reported that the construction of the training centre was not intensified due to the land dispute. The necessary land for the sports training centre has not been acquired so far.