GALESHWOR, August 1: The Beni-Jomsom corridor of Kali Gandaki, which is considered a project of national pride, and the Beni-Darbang road, which is called the 'life line' of Myagdi, is always prone to landslides with the onset of the monsoon season. The passengers and vehicles suffer on these roads due to adverse weather conditions and potential landslides during this period.
Even during normal rainfall, landslides pose risks to passengers and vehicles traveling on both these roads. The Beni-Jomsom road, which was opened 12 years ago, has been suffering due to the delay in the upgrading of the road and rough terrain. Dry landslides during the winter and floods in the rainy season have led to frequent road blockages, causing disruptions and inconvenience for travelers. Transport entrepreneurs are complaining that the problems have arisen after the extension of the contract period of the 76-kilometer road up-gradation project.
The delay in the project, which is being carried out with the aim of blacktopping, has caused suffering to the residents, tourists and pilgrims of the northern area of Myagdi as well as Mustang. There is a compulsion to travel at risk on narrow, worn-out, ungraded and uneven roads. Roads are blocked three to four times a day due to landslides at various places. Passengers complain that they could not reach their destinations on time due to traffic jams for hours. They also said that they had to change vehicles to reach their destinations.
Two settlements in Humla at high risk of flood, landslide
Due to the lack of management of the soil released during the road expansion, flooding has occurred in Kali Gandaki, affecting the settlements on its banks. Fagam and Guinthe of Dana and settlements in Kavre are vulnerable to landslides. Tek Bahadur Harmel, a driver, said that he has difficulties while driving as the road becomes slippery and muddy during monsoon and dusty in winter. "Driving a vehicle on a worn-out road is dangerous and painful," he said, “A journey on the road that takes four hours from Beni during normal weather conditions takes up to two days in the rainy season."
Transport entrepreneur Suman Shrestha said that the road from Galeshwar in Myagdi to Lete in Mustang is dangerous. "Despite the increase in the number of passengers and vehicles, the condition of the road is bad," he said. In June/July 2017, various companies were awarded contracts worth Rs 2.50 billion for road up-gradation projects.
Since Friday, after landslides occurred in various sections of the Beni-Jomsom road, passengers and transporter entrepreneurs have been facing problems. Transportation professionals have said that landslides have occurred at seven places from Bainsari in Myagdi to Lete in Mustang.
Likewise, the condition of the Beni-Darbang road section is also very pathetic. Even after 18 years of the opening of the road, the landslide problem has not been resolved. The road section of Phaparkhet on the border of Beni Municipality and Mangala Rural Municipality, which had landslide problems before the opening of the track in 2062 BS, has now become the most dangerous.
Locals say that there is no long-term plan for landslide prevention, so direct transport services are affected in this section during the rainy season. Bir Bahadur BK, a driver, said that as soon as it starts raining, the road is blocked by landslides. He said that there is a compulsion to travel across landslides at the risk of falling rocks on a narrow road. According to him, vehicles are damaged and passengers are injured due to the rocks falling from the adjacent hills.
Landslides in Lampata of Mangala Rural Municipality-2 have interrupted traffic on the road for the last five years. Guru Datta Adhikari, acting chief of Beni-Simkhand Infrastructure Development Office, said that the up-gradation work has been stopped in the landslide-affected area and dozers are kept standby to clear the debris as soon as landslides occur and prevent traffic disruption. "Separate bioengineering work should be done to control landslides in Phaparkhet, Lampata and Bange," he said.
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