MYAGDI, Feb 20: The Maldhunga–Beni road, which connects Myagdi and Mustang to the national highway network, has been upgraded. Under the national pride project Kali Gandaki Corridor (Beni–Jomsom–Korala) road plan linking China and India, the Maldhunga–Beni section has been widened to an 11-meter, two-lane road and blacktopped using asphalt technology.
In March 2021, Apex–Khadka–Krishna JV signed a contract worth Rs 528.6 million to upgrade and blacktop the 13-kilometer road section from Maldhunga in Kushma Municipality–1 of Parbat through wards 8, 7, 4, and 3 of Jaljala Rural Municipality to Beni, the district headquarters of Myagdi.
Project Chief Tejaswi Sharma said that except for 960 meters, blacktopping and concreting have been completed along the 13-kilometer stretch. “Work is underway to paint road markings and install safety infrastructure on the completed sections,” he said. “A 760-meter stretch at Waribeni and 100 meters each at Kerabari and Pharse landslide areas have been removed from the contract.”
Chinese team starts upgradation work
Sharma stated that road expansion through the settlement at Waribeni could not proceed due to a lack of consent from homeowners, while landslides at Pharse and Kerabari forced the removal of those sections from the contract. The project was originally targeted for completion in 2023.
The road project, which had been left incomplete by sub-contractor Omkareshwor citing the COVID-19 pandemic, floods and landslides, and shortages of river-based construction materials, was resumed a year ago after the main contractor returned to the work site.
Previously, last year, 3.3 kilometers were blacktopped and 2.2 kilometers concreted in the Maldhunga–Pharse section. Engineer Jeevan Chaudhary of the construction company said that blacktopping of the 6.5-kilometer Lasti–Beni section, which began in the first week of Mangsir, has been completed and is currently undergoing technical inspection.
The road is used by residents of Myagdi, Mustang, and Jaljala Rural Municipality of Parbat, as well as tourists and pilgrims. Opened in 1995 under the “Food for Work” program, the Maldhunga–Beni road was partially blacktopped in 2011. After Mustang and the Korala border point were connected to the road network, traffic volume increased, and the narrow road had deteriorated in recent years.
Transport entrepreneur Buddhi Pun said that travel time on the Maldhunga–Beni road has been reduced from one hour to 15–20 minutes after the upgrade. “For the past five years, we had been using a longer alternative route connecting Maldhunga via Ratnechaur in Baglung from Beni while traveling between Pokhara and Beni,” he said. “The need to travel on a winding road has ended, and travel time has also shortened.”
Baburam Karki, a resident of Milan Chowk in Jaljala Rural Municipality–7, said that after blacktopping, the risks and hardships of traveling through dust and mud have come to an end.
