Important trade route with India has been in a state of disrepair for a decade

Published On: August 9, 2022 04:30 PM NPT By: Himal Lamsal

KATHMANDU, August 9: A decade has passed since the government started expanding the 27.5 km road from Butwal to Belahia, the border point with India, but the road upgradation work on this stretch has not been completed yet. Since 2011/12, the government has been managing the contract for this road section as a sequential plan and the cost of expanding this road section was Rs 5.92 billion.

Deepak Kumar Jha, chief of Belhia-Butwal road project, said that out of the 27.5 km long road, a section of three and a half kilometers is yet to be paved. "The expansion of this road section was stopped for many years due to a court order," he said. "Now, with the lifting of the stay order by the court, the road expansion work has progressed." The upgrading of this road section was stopped for a long time due to the road standards dispute and the delay by the contractor. Project chief Jha claimed that the remaining three and a half kilometer road section would be completed within the current fiscal year.

As much as 80 percent of the project was completed by the mid-July of the year 2012. However, even after a decade, the project has not seen any progress. The work of the three and a half kilometers long section is still left. Along with the expansion of this road, there was a plan to build nine pedestrian bridges. Out of the nine bridges, five have been completed so far. The remaining four bridges are still under construction. Bhairahawa customs office falls under this road which is the second most important import point after Birgunj customs.

Dispute over 8 kms of Birgunj-Pathlaiya road

In 2015/16, the government started a campaign to expand the six-lane road on Birgunj-Pathlaiya road, the main crossing point of Nepal. According to this plan, 39.28 km of road upgradation through Bara-Parsa to Raxaul in India was progressed. Out of 39.28 km, agreement for eight km of the road section has not been signed yet.

Manish Kumar Shah, the chief of Birgunj-Pathlaiya road expansion project, said that out of about 39.28 km, 8 km of the road has not been widened due to disputes over compensation.