Panighatta disappeared due to lack of interest in conservation

Due to lack of interest in conservation along with development and access to technology, the original resources including water ghatas built using indigenous skills and technology are disappearing from the rural areas of Myagdi.

Panighatas, which were widely used in the rural areas of Myagdi a decade ago, have now disappeared. Panighatta is a traditional grain grinding technique. This technology is disappearing after the water and electricity mills have reached the villages.

Since the villagers have been using it as a reliable tool for grinding (grain grinding), it has become a viable option in recent times. Panighatta was especially built on the banks of rivers and streams. The water of the river was made into a canal so that it would flow down from the top to the back through a big pipe and when the water turned back it would grind the food.

Now this practice has disappeared. Such water is also found in deep vertical rivers. At present, the former ghatas are sometimes seen in dilapidated condition. It is still used in areas where the mill is not accessible. In most places, the mills have come into operation. It has made it easier for people.

Until a few years ago, the locals of Malika Gaonpalika-2 Room used to grind and consume flour in Panighatta. At present, mills in two or three places in the village have become unusable. Unused ghatas have become dilapidated and its parts have become unusable.

 According to local Ran Bahadur Budha, the water mill has stopped being used after the increasing use of the mill. He said that in the past, the villagers used to grind the flour in Panighatta, but now they go to all the mills for grinding.

 After the operation of modern cotton mills in different places of the district, water mills constructed with old technology have started disappearing. Prithu BK of Malika Gaunpalika Ward No. 2 Room, who has been operating Panighatta for two decades, said that the demand for Panighatta has been declining due to Kutanipisani mill after electricity started burning everywhere in the village.

Krishna Bahadur Bania, a scholar of history and culture of Myagdi, says that the Panighatta, which was an integral part of traditional rural life a decade ago, needs to be preserved for the information of future generations.

Nara Bahadur, the ward chairman of Malika-2 Room, says that the local government should also be vigilant for the juggling of such assets and technology while voices are being raised to protect the issues related to old technology and skills. In the western region of Myagdi, villages like Gurja, Rum and Okharbot have been experiencing water shortage.