The government under financial assistance of the Japanese government had started construction of the 158 km road some 13 years ago. Sadly, only 41 km stretch of the highway from Kaldhunga of Kavre has been black-topped so far.
Moreover, overloaded vehicles that ply along the highway have made matters worse, said Bindu Shamsher Rana, chief of Dhulikhel-Sindhuli-Bardibash Road Project. The maximum weight a vehicle is allowed to carry is 8.8 tons. However, trucks are found to carry over 40 tons of load.
The road is dotted by potholes and does not seem to have improved despite occasional repairs. Over 200 trucks ply along the highway every day carrying concrete and stones.
The wretched state of the highway has also troubled local commuters. Surya Kumar Napit, who drives a local passenger-bus (Ba 1 Kha 8815), said that it takes three hours for him to traverse the 40 km segment from Dhulikhel to Mangaltar. Local buses provide regular transport service along the 59 km stretch from Dhulikhel to Nepalkot.
The locals complained that their complaints for the repair of the highway have fallen on deaf ears.
The Road Project recently made a tender call for blacktopping the 10 km section from Kaldhunga to Nepalthok, but the contractors are learnt to have forwarded their bids downsizing the amount up to 36 percent.
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