Bhattarai issued the directive to the authorities concerned during a meeting at his office at Singha Durbar on Tuesday afternoon. [break]
"The prime minister himself took the initiative so that the task of widening the roads will not be halted due to lack of finances and coordination among the concerned authorities," reads a press statement issued by the office of the prime minister.
The government is currently working on three road sections, Tinkune-Maitighar, Krishna Pauroti-Ratopul, and Dillibazaar-Baluwatar.
As per the directive, the electricity and telephone poles should be removed from all the road sections by mid-March; underground cabling should be completed by mid-April; and all construction works will be wrapped up by mid-May.
The government has formed a four-member panel led by Hareram Koirala, secretary at the ministry of energy, to study the tasks of underground cabling and road-widening and prepare a report within seven days.
Similarly, another six-member panel led by Tulsi Sitaula, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, has been formed to look into the concerns of the people affected by the road-widening drive and address genuine concerns.
According to the statement, around Rs 40 million more would be allocated for road reconstruction and the prime minister has directed the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry for Physical Planning and Works to work in coordination to arrange the amount.
The statement says that the prime minister is hopeful about the road-widening drive in Kathmandu completing within the current fiscal year. Representatives from the authorities concerned had informed the prime minister that the roadmap for the reconstruction of the Lazimpat-Neuro Hospital road section has also been completed.
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