The road blockage has also caused the price of essential commodities and daily use items to soar. Bad weather hindering Pokhara -Jomsom flights has made things worse for the locals.
The road section constructed by the Nepal Army at an investment of Rs 560 million five years ago has become a seasonal road as it is impassible in the rainy season. Before handing the road over to the government, an army team used to be stationed to clear away any obstructions. Locals complain that the state of the road has worsened after the NA turned it over to the government as no one now clears the obstructions.
Transport entrepreneurs blame the Department of Roads (DoR) for not carrying out regular maintenance.
Jayandra Thakali, chairman of the Jeep Transport Entrepreneurs Committee in Mustang, informed that Rs 4.5million was earmarked for road maintenance but DoR could not start the work in time for the rainy season.
“The negligence on the part of DoR has cut the district off from the road network. The worse part is, no action has been taken to clear the road even after two weeks of blockage,” said Thakali. Over 45 jeeps and buses used to ply the road.
However, Prabhat Kumar Jha, chief engineer at the Western Regional Roads Department, claimed that clearing landslides along the road could not start due to a budget crunch.
“Government used to provide over Rs 50 million annually while the army was working on the road, but now hardly 4 million is earmarked for maintenance. Due to the low budget, we could not upgrade the road,” he said.
"We have mobilized dozers from both sides to clear the road, but at some points where it has been completely swept away by landslide maintenance work is very difficult,” he added.
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