By Amar Raj Naharki
Tanahun, Feb. 17: The Ghansi Kuwa, the well built by the Ghansi (grass collector) who inspired pioneer poet Bhanukhata to contribute to society through literature, is now under threat.
The expansion of the Mugling-Pokhara section of the Prithvi Highway is set to claim the well and the nearby Bhanu-Ghansi Memorial Park.
However, the concerned body has not paid any attention towards the conservation of the historical Ghansi Kuwa and the memorial park.

Locals are worried that the well will be buried since the trees located nearby are being cut down for the road expansion.
The locals have urged the authorities to widen the road without disturbing the historical well and the park.

Ward Chairman of Byas Municipality-12 Totra Kunwar said the Ghansi Kuwa and the Bhanu-Ghansi Memorial Park should be preserved anyway.
“Instead of widening the road on the side of the memorial park, it can be widened on the opposite side. The bank of the Buldi River can be raised for conservation,” said Kunwar.

It is said that Bhanubhakta had met the Ghansi on his way back from his maternal uncle’s home at Manahu on foot.
The Ghansi Kuwa falls under Byas Municipality-12 along the Prithvi Highway, about six kilometres east of the district headquarters Damauli.

Bhanubhakta was inspired by the Ghansi, who wanted to build a well for his village with his hard-earned money.
He told Bhanubhakta that he wanted to earn goodwill and fame with his good deeds.

Inspired by the simple fodder collector, Bhanubhakta began writing poems. He translated the Ramayana into Nepali language from the Sanskrit and played a key role to popularise the Nepali language.
Bhoj Raj Pantha, a local of Polyang, Ghansi Kuwa, Byas Municipality-11, said that the Prithvi Highway has to be widened but not at the cost of the historical well.

"This is a place that has been protected by our ancestors. History should not be erased,” he said.
Lilawati Pantha, who runs a canteen at the Bhanu-Ghansi Memorial Park, said that the three-tier governments should pay attention to protect the Ghansi Kuwa because Bhanubhakta's identity would be affected without its conservation.

A Chinese company has been working to expand the Pokhara-Mugling section of the Prithvi Highway in three phases. A two-lane road, the highway will be expanded to a four-lane one.
The locals have been asking the three-tier governments to protect the Ghansi Kuwa while carrying out development works. However, no decision has been taken and if work continues in its current outline, the well will be buried and the park destroyed.