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ROAD BLOCK |
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ROAD BLOCK |
Harming The Economy The wash out of certain
sections of highway at Mugling-Narayanghat road hurts the economy By A CORRESPONDENT Despite the need for an alternative and
shorter road to link the valley with the rest of the country, capital is yet to find
respite from frequent disturbances in the two highways that currently link it. Tribhuwan Rajpath, 70 miles long, the first
highway linking the valley passes through lofty hills and has numerous bends obstructing
the flow of heavy vehicles. With the inauguration of Mugling-Naryanghat highway in 1984,
the scenario had changed as it shortened the time as well as increased the volume of the
vehicles. Till a few years ago, the road used to be
blocked only during the rainy season. However, in the last couple of years, the frequency
of landslides obstructing the highways has increased considerably. From petroleum products to other essential
commodities, more than 3000 trucks pass every day from Mugling-Narayanghat section of the
road to cater to the demands of 1.6 million population of the valley. Built with the financial support of
People’s Republic of China, Mugling-Narayanghat road shortened the distance between
capital city and other part of the country. Thanks to the road, the buses traveling from
far west to east to capital reach their destinations in less than 18 hours. Following the
construction of roads, capital has been integrated with the rest of the Kingdom. After the devastation of the road by
landslides, the government has sanctioned more than 50 million rupees to reconstruct the
damaged road but it is yet to be complete. Frequent general strikes called by the Maoist
insurgents are causing more problems in the road reconstruction efforts. “We are doing out best to rehabilitate
new tracks replacing the old tracks - which were washed out by the flood and
landslide,” said a senior official at the Department of Road. Under the Japanese cooperation, another
alternative road linking Kathmandu with the southern plain through Bardibas is under
construction. Thanks to the intensification of insurgency, the project is struggling to be
completed on schedule. |
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editor: spot@mail.com.np |
