What's New

Following the completion of the second section of the UK aid funded Mugu Humla Link Road (MHLR) from Darke to Chankheli, 11.350 Km, the road section has been officially handed over to the Infrastructure Development Office (IDO), Mugu on 30^th September 2021. Representing MOPIUD, Mr. Yogendra Dharala, IDO Chief, Mugu accepted the road handover of MHLR second section. The handover was witnessed by the chief guest, Ganesh Prashad Koirala, Assistant Chief District Officer (Assist. CDO). Mr. Koirala appreciated RAP3 MHLR’s contribution to the improvement of socio-economic growth in Mugu and Humla. Similarly, RAP3 MHLR Team Leader, Kirsteen Merrilees and Deputy Team Leader, Ram P. Thapaliya expressed their sincere gratitude to all the organisations, working groups, and excavator owners associated with the project for their resilient support and contribution in achieving project’s objectives and success.

Local residents of Mugu and Humla are hopeful that they will be leveraging the benefits of regular transport services once the entire road section of MHLR is completed. In the meantime, vehicles are being allowed for regular delivery of essential goods to Humla by prioritising the safety of workers and vehicle operators. With the operation of vehicles, there is already evidence of significant reductions in the cost of food and construction materials in the newly served communities. 

RAP3 MHLR Central Team, held one-day virtual training on site safety for field-based supervision staff on 8^th September 2021.  Supervision staff from Salyan, Surkhet, Dailekh, Rukum West and Jajarkot attended the training. The training covered topics such as the importance of site safety, various risks at site and their mitigation, purpose and handling of safety gear, proper handling of construction tools, site management, first aid kit management, usage and record keeping, incident management, and Covid-19 prevention and protection. The participants engaged in sharing site-related issues, concerns, queries, and feedback. All concerns and feedback raised during the training were immediately addressed by the concerned teams and immediate actions taken as needed.

At RAP3 MHLR, all staff are required to understand the project’s values and ethics to build a thriving work culture and respectful environment for everyone involved with the project. RAP3 MHLR ensures that all project staff and those engaged through our partner and implementing organisations understand and comply with the RAP3 MHLR Codes of Conduct. In August, staff completed three mandatory Code of Conduct courses, focusing on anti-corruption, behaviour and safeguards, as well as four other mandatory training. The training is available through the project’s e-learning platform, and was given in-person to those who don’t have access to the online platform, following social distancing norms and other Covid 19 safety protocols.  

MHLR has an agreement with the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation (DOFSC) that for every tree felled during road construction, the project needs to plant 25 new trees at the ratio of 1:25 and to take care of those trees for five years from planting. A total of 3,358 trees cut on Humla side means 83,950 new trees must be planted as compensation. Out of this, RAP3 MHLR has completed the plantation of 11,883 trees. In Mugu, the project has completed the plantation of all 18,600 trees that are required as compensatory plantation.

There is limited land available for compensatory planting near the Mugu Humla Link Road in Humla, which is mostly dense forest or agriculturally productive land, so it has been agreed with Divisional Forest Office Humla that they will carry out the planting on our behalf in other locations throughout the district. 

DFOs of Humla and Mugu will take over the care responsibility of the planted trees on behalf of the MHLR project. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between RAP3 MHLR and the DFOs of Humla and Mugu for the remaining compensatory planting and care taking of all trees planted. The MOU defines the total numbers and remaining care taking period of the trees along with the cost of providing these services, which will be funded by the project.

Everyone has been affected differently by the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health measures such as lockdowns and social distancing are necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19, but such restrictions may also have a significant impact upon the mental health of employees. Therefore, understanding the importance of positive mental well-being of staff and to cope with stress in a healthy way in the face of COVID-19 pandemic, RAP3 MHLR conducted “Stress Management and Mental Health Training” in June and July 2021 for all RAP3 MHLR staff. The training was spread across several batches to keep the number of participants low so that participants could have sufficient time and space to interactively share their feelings with certified psychologist/stress counsellor, Karuna Kunwar. The training provided practical information, tips and exercises on preventing stress, anxiety and our staff found the training useful and beneficial for managing their mental health and keeping them optimistic and hopeful in the midst of the pandemic. In addition, staff who want a private session with the psychologist or have personal questions are now able to contact Karuna for assistance.

With RAP3 MHLR reaching its final phase, we are progressively demobilising our valuable staff after the end of their contracts with the RAP3 MHLR project. On 1^st July 2021, our project field team bid a warm farewell to 10 field staff based in Mugu and Humla whose contracts ran out at the end of June 2021. On behalf of every member of the RAP3 MHLR, the project field team organized a small farewell programme at Gumgadhi, Mugu. The project highly appreciates field staffs’ remarkable contributions at the ground level, which have allowed the project to achieve its goals. Many of these staff have worked in RAP from its initial phase and at the farewell event they expressed their gratitude towards project and also shared the lessons they have achieved over their years of service to the project.

Speaking at the virtual farewell event conducted by Central team, Madan KC, Main Storekeeper, shared that when he first arrived at his base station, Mugu, he had to walk in the snow and remembered his hard times due to remoteness. Looking back on those difficult days, today, he feels amazed to be able to go to the field in our project’s four-wheel vehicle and return to his residence on the same day. The other project field staff also shared their years of similar experiences and memories of working on the project.

The project has been able to achieve great success because of their hard work and commitment over the years. It has been a great privilege and an honor to have them working for RAP with their great effort and determination.

Best wishes to all of our field project staff when moving onto the next chapter of their lives!

On 12^th Feb 2020, ‘20 years of RAP’ was celebrated at the British Embassy, Kathmandu (BEK) to mark the success of the three phases of RAP and close collaboration between Nepal and the UK for development aid. Our project staff, stakeholders, beneficiaries and DFID/BEK staff have all contributed to its success through their hard work and dedication and now, with RAP3 MHLR reaching its final phase, we are progressively winding down the project.

After the completion of RAP3 main component, a new maintenance and resilience component under RAP3 MHLR was started from 1^st July 2019 to provide technical and management support for road maintenance to the government of Karnali Province. In May 2020, an amendment to the RAP3 MHLR contract was signed and introduced a new COVID-19 Response component to support the Government of Nepal’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. After a year of offering wage income opportunities to the impoverished and vulnerable people of Karnali Province, the COVID-19 Response component is phasing out at the end of June 2021 and with this, the contracts of four of our senior staff have also come to an end.

On behalf of every member of the RAP3 MHLR, we would like to convey our profound gratitude for the hard work and splendid performance of our four-senior staff over the years. Our senior staff: Shankar Pokharel, Safeguard Specialist, joined the project in 2004; Arjun Poudel, COVID-19 Component Team Leader, started working on RAP in 2006; and similarly, Gopi Chandra Upreti, Province Support Manager and Mitra Shrestha, Province Stakeholder Coordinator joined the RAP project in 2011. The resilience and patience our senior staff showed during their tenure at RAP3 MHLR is commendable. The team has set a great example of leadership, bonding and friendship which has meant that the project has been able to achieve great success. To celebrate the achievement of COVID-19 Response Component and to honour the contribution of our senior team members, RAP3 MHLR organised an event on June 18, 2021 which highlighted the achievements of the component as well as our senior staff who shared their years of experience and memories of working on the project.

It has been a great privilege and an honor to have our senior staff working for RAP with great effort and generosity of spirit and while we are sad that they are leaving.  We wish them all the best for their future endeavors!