Irrigation canal brings prosperity
The 21 households of Guta settlement of Devesthan Village Development Committee in Achham district have greatly benefitted from the irrigation project supported by the UNDP Quick Impact and Peace support Initiative (QIPSI) programme implemented in 2009. Achham is one of the remotest districts of Nepal. It is accessible by automobile from Kathmandu via a paved road that runs along the western border of Nepal from Dhangadi.
The 2007 landslide and soil erosion had devastated the infrastructure including the irrigation canal and as a result the people relied only on monsoon rain for their agricultural activities. The irrigation canal today has made it possible for the land to increase the yield of crops as paddy, wheat and other seasonal and off-season vegetables. The villagers are able to cultivate in the land for 10 months as compared to 2 months before the construction of the irrigation canal.
The Suikee river irrigation canal was constructed at the total cost of Rs.165, 033 out of which Rs.132, 000 was received as grant from the programme and the community contributed labour worth Rs.33,033.
The UNDP Decentralized Local Governance Support Programme (DLGSP) and UNICEF carried out DAG (Disadvantaged Group) mapping in all the 75 districts of Nepal in 2007. The study ranked the villages on the basis of food sufficiency, number of primary schools, health posts, number of marginalized households, participation in decision making, vulnerable communities and gender discrimination. The Guta settlement is one of the most remote and is ranked fourth in the poverty mapping of the Disadvantaged Groups.