Jumla, April 27 -- Prolonged delays in hospital construction have left people of remote rural municipalities in Jumla without basic healthcare, forcing patients to travel long distances for treatment.

In Kanakasundari Rural Municipality, a 15-bed basic hospital building remains incomplete nearly six years after its foundation stone was laid in 2020 by then local unit chief Narabir Rawat. Locals say that the delay is disheartening, particularly as 22 households had donated around 3,500 square metres of land free of cost for the project.

"The building should have been ready within three years, but there has been little progress," said a local, preferring anonymity. "We gave land in the hope of better health services, but the project has s...