Rs 1 lakh and food for 6 months will be given to those who return to the village

Considering the fact that the villages are emptying due to increasing migration and the agricultural land is becoming barren, the Mahashila Rural Municipality of Parbat has encouraged the citizens to return to their villages through the 'Gaon Fark Parapyari' program. This program has been providing a subsidy of one lakh rupees per family and necessary food for the first six months to those who have migrated and returned to their villages. According to Ishwari Prasad Bhusal, chairman of the rural municipality, 15 families have returned to the village under this program so far. The main objective of this program, which was implemented from the last financial year 2081/82, is to solve the problem of the village itself becoming empty and the arable land not being used. Migration from the six wards of Mahashila has increased significantly over the past decade, leaving most of the houses empty and the arable land covered with bushes.

This subsidy program was introduced to bring back the villages after the migration did not stop despite the expansion of access to roads, water, electricity and health services. President Bhusal clarified that this one lakh rupees will be given for building or repairing houses. For those who do not have a house or have dilapidated houses, this amount will help them to build a new house or to repair their old house. It takes at least six months for families who have migrated back to their villages to start farming and get the produce. In the meantime, the rural municipality has been providing food support to make their daily life easier. According to Chief Administrative Officer Devendra Pandey, essential food items such as rice, dal, oil, vegetables etc. are provided according to the number of families. The main objective of this grant is to help the citizens to start living comfortably in the village.

According to the municipality, citizens who have migrated for a long time have also returned to their villages and started fruit cultivation since last year. With the aim of using barren land, they were attracted to fruit farming after getting free seedlings and planting expenses with the help of the Gandaki State Government and the Prime Minister's Agriculture Modernization Project. Most of the citizens of Mahashila have migrated to cities like Pokhara, Chitwan, Nawalpur, Bhairahawa and others. So far, 32 people from 15 households have decided to return to the village. Preparations are being made to distribute grant money to them according to the recommendation of the ward office and the decision of the village executive.

However, in the last one year, 325 people from 93 families have migrated out of the village. This data shows that the challenge of the rural municipality is still big, but programs like 'Gaon Fark Parapyari' are expected to have a positive impact.