KATHMANDU, Feb 5: The Mid-Hill Highway, considered a national pride project, connects remote settlements in Baglung and extends into the eastern part of Rukum. It spans 1,879 kilometers from Chiyo Bhajyaang in Panchthar to Jhulaghat in Baitadi, with 135 kilometers passing through Baglung. This project, which began in 2007, has completed 90 percent of the work in the Baglung section.
The track in the western Baglung section opened around 2008/09. Despite 17 years since the project started, nearby residents still face challenges due to the highway's incompleteness. The Mid-Hill Highway Office in Parbat has confirmed that the remaining work, which is about 90 percent complete, will be finished soon.
Information Officer Kiran Subedi stated that the project has paved 122 kilometers of road with blacktop, leaving 13 kilometers to be paved. The Mid-Hill Highway Office has completed work on 15 kilometers in Nisikhola Rural Municipality and handed it over to the road department.
95 percent work of Madan Bhandari Highway completed
He mentioned that, except for the 5 kilometers from Baglung Bazaar to Bayaldanda and the 8 kilometers from Bayaldanda to Ghorabandha, all sections have been paved. He added that the 5 kilometers will be completed this year, and the remaining 8 kilometers are under construction and will be finished next year.
He said, "In many areas of the Baglung section, we have paved and repaired the road. The completed sections still need to be handed over to the Department of Roads, but work is progressing at a good pace now. The delay in the Bihu section occurred when we broke the contract and had to redo the work. We will complete all work within the next year. Once we finish, we will hand over all sections to the Department of Roads."
The Mid-Hill Highway has made Nisikhola, once considered the most remote area in Baglung, more accessible. Nisikhola Rural Municipality Chairperson Surya Bahadur Gharti Magar said the highway has been a blessing for the residents of Nisikhola. He added that the highway directly connects the provincial capital, Pokhara, with the federal capital, Kathmandu.
Chairperson Gharti Magar said, "In the past, Nisikhola was so remote that workers refused to come. The residents spent a week just to reach the district headquarters, but now they can reach both the district headquarters and even the capital in a single day. Easy road access has helped market local products and made travel easier, improving the lives of thousands of residents in this area."
He added that dozens of buses, both day and night, now operate daily from various districts in western Nepal, including Eastern Rukum, Western Rukum, Jajarkot, and Dolpa, through the Baglung section of the Mid-Hill Highway to the federal capital, Kathmandu.
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