By Thakur Prasad Acharya, Myagdi, Feb. 2: The copper mine of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-5, Malkabang has remained unexploited for years because of which the mine has started to get buried.

The locals used to take out the copper from the mine in order to make artisan copper utensils till a century ago, but now the place has started to fill up with debris as the government has imposed taxes on copper extraction.

There are more than a dozen mines in Malbang village alone. Extracting copper is the ancestral occupation of the Chhantyal community. Currently, tunnels can be marked in many hill slopes that lie above the village from where the Chhantyal would extract copper.

Dal Man Chhantyal, a local, says that there are numerous copper mines but they are getting filled up as people no longer use them.

Saying that his ancestors used to take out copper and make a living out of making copper utensils, Chhantyal requested the government to make a conducive environment so that even young people can be involved in the ancestral business rather than opting for foreign employment.

Amar Chhantyal, another local, says that the locals have asked for the research and study on copper mining in order to revive the old mine so that the local government can operate them.

Chhantyal said that the copper mine in the area should be studied and re-opened as copper ore can still be found around the place where his ancestors mined.

Khark Kumari Chhantyal, ward chair, said that the main occupation of the Chhantyal community was in crisis after the then government started taking more taxes from the miners.

In the house of local Lal Bahadur Chhantyal, there are utensils that were made in 1847.

He has saved traditional utensils made of copper, a pot for measuring the amount of food grain and a traditional vessel for keeping water (chamane pathi and gagri), dated in his belongings.

Tunnels of copper and iron are also found in the areas of Machhim-1 and Dharapani-7 of Malkabang of Dhaulagiri Municipality.

Ward chair Chhantyal said that the policy has not been implemented even though the municipality has formulated a policy for the protection and feasibility study of such mining tunnels within the municipality.