National 11 (Spotlight Weekly)

Better Late Than Never

Six years after signing the Mahakali Treaty, India is assisting in the construction of the road linking Tanakpur barrage with the East-West highway

By A CORRESPONDENT

The government of India signed an agreement on January 6, 2003 with His Majesty's Government on the construction of an all-weather link road connecting the Tanakpur Barrage in India with the East-West Highway at Mahendranagar in Nepal.

The Tanakpur-Mahendranagar Link Road Project, costing NRs.475 million, will be taken up and completed under 100 percent grant assistance from the Indian government. The project is expected to be completed in two years.

"This road project is an obligation accepted by the Government of India as contained in the Exchange of Letters between the Prime Ministers of the two countries on February 12, 1996, which accompanied the signing of the Mahakali Treaty between India and Nepal," stated a press release by the Indian Embassy.

According to the press release, the Tanakpur-Mahendranagar link road will traverse a distance of 13.365 km., out of which only 1.283 km, from the Tanakpur Barrage to the Indo-Nepal border, will fall in India.

The design of the road, which is based on guidelines prescribed for national highways, provides for vehicular speeds of 80-100 km per hour. The roadway width will be 10 meters, out of which the carriageway with two lanes will be seven meters wide.

Three major bridges having a total length of 277 meters have been proposed across three rivers along the alignment, and 15 minor bridges having a total length of 190 meters have been proposed for crossing local streams. Adequate provision for surface drainage and cross drainage has been made, particularly in view of the foothill character of the project area. One major intersection at the end of the link road where it meets the East-West Highway and 14 minor junctions for cross-roads have also been planned.

The Tanakpur-Mahendranagar link road will enable people living in the far-western region of Nepal to easily reach Tanakpur, which is an important junction town in Udhamsingh Nagar district of Uttaranchal state of India. Tanakpur is well connected by road to Pithoragarh, Khatima, Sitarganj, Haldwani, Rudrapur, Nainital, and Almora towns in the Kumaun region of Uttaranchal. It also provides easy access to important towns such as Rampur, Moradabad and Bareilly, in the Rohilkhand region of the State of Uttar Pradesh. Completion of this road, therefore, will give a much needed fillip to trade and industry in the far-western region of Nepal.

GNP Welcomes King's Address

The Green Nepal Party (GNP) has expressed its unflinching support to King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev's statement that "the monarchy of the 21st century cannot go against democracy".

"At a time when the parties that formulated the constitution of 1990 are giving out contradictory, irresponsible and provocative statements by saying they adhere to the constitutional monarchy one day and speaking against it the other day, and also signaling they could join hands with violent forces who want republic; it is upon the shoulders of the constitutional monarchy to protect democracy, strengthen national unity and address nationalism," reads the press statement by the GNP. The press statement was released following the meeting of the high command of the party held in January 5, 2003.

The party has praised His Majesty's emphasis on promoting the various religious, cultural and regional sentiments in his speech at the civic reception held last week in Biratnagar.

The GNP has asked the bigger political parties to admit their mistakes in the past years when they could not uplift the lives of people by not focusing on social justice. It has said it fully supports constitutional monarchy, multiparty democracy, clean politics and corruption-free good governance. "The party supports the royal address in Biratnagar," the statement said.