Almost a century ago, an artificial pond was created atop a hill near Begnas Lake, but nothing was done to preserve it for half a century.
Only in 1978, a few solicitous denizens of Begnas Village gathered at ‘Pauwa Chautaro’ to discuss the logistics of preserving the pond. By the end of the meeting, the participants agreed to contribute one labour from each household.
“Almost 200 villagers came together to give a new look to the pond. The entire work completed within two months,” recalls 78-year-old resident Bamdev Adhikari. “Each of the contributors was paid Rs. 5 a day in exchange for their labour some 43 years back,” he adds.
Perched atop a hillside above the Begnas Lake, the pond is today known as Thuli Pokhari.
“Back in those days, you could see almost 200 cattle soaking in the pond,” reminisces Adhikari. Both practical and idyllic, villagers were ecstatic over what they had achieved in just a couple of months. Apart from cooling off livestock, the water source also helped farmers to irrigate their fields. Much like Bamdev, several other old-timers fondly look back on the pond’s initial days.
“Before the entire village worked to build Thuli Pokhari, most of us had to walk for at least three or four hours to get to the nearby lake,” explains Teel Kumari Poudel, 80, a resident of Pokhara-31.
However, Thuli Pokhari, although a beautiful pond, now wears a rather deserted look. Most of the houses today do not own cattle anymore, as a result of which the pond is devoid of any activity. However, locals aren’t too concerned about this. Instead, they have been gearing up to turn the pond into a dependable income generating source.
“Livestock farming is no longer the norm here in the village. In fact, many people have shifted to other options to earn their livelihood,” informs Bharat Raj Poudel, Information Officer at Pokhara Metropolitan City. According to officer Poudel, more than half of the total wards of Pokhara have been demanding budget targeting to preserve local ponds as income-generating sources.
“Thuli Pokhari of Begnas is also being transformed to an income-generating modern pond for which Pokhara Ward 31 Office has already invested a total of Rs. 10 million in the current fiscal year,” says Ward Chair of Pokhara 31 Kamal Bahadur Thapa. Likewise, Pokhara Metropolitan Office has allocated Rs. 15 million for overall pond preservation projects in the current fiscal year.
Source : TRN,
