Repair works to be completed within a week
NAUBISE, Feb 20: The vital road along Nagdhunga, which serves as the main passage to the capital, is full of cracks and potholes although it was repaired just four months ago during the last Dashain festival. It is being repaired once again after complaints from the commuters. In the view of the upcoming monsoon, the authorities have expedited the repair works. The highway is among the busiest roads in the country with hundreds of light and heavy vehicles and passenger buses passing through everyday.
The authority concerned has focused on filling the major potholes in the first phase. The lane used for entering the Kathmandu Valley looks more damaged than the other side. Workers are busy fixing it from Thankot and have blacktopped two and half kilometers down the road. The ongoing project has once again resulted in heavy traffic jam along the route.
Do people have to die for potholes to be filled?
Earlier, when the road was being repaired, vehicles used to get stuck in traffic jam for hours and sometimes even an entire day. According to the Department of Roads, utmost care has been taken to help people have hassle-free journey amid the ongoing repairing of the road. According to the officials, the project will be completed in a week.
Just a few days ago, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Kumar Nembang, along with an expert from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Gajendra Thapaliya, and Chief of the Road Division Office, Kathmandu, Kuber Nepali had jointly inspected the road and recommended for fixing the problem quickly. According to Nembang, the repair works will be completed soon.
"As the main entrance and exit of Kathmandu, this is the busiest road. It should be repaired time and again and the quality should be maintained," said Nembang. "Even though the deadline is two months away, the work is likely to be completed soon," he said.
Ram Sharan Budhathoki, a representative of the contractor company, stated that it is very difficult to work at the road which remains busy round the clock.
"However, we are working cautiously and honestly," he said. "The traffic jam will gradually lessen and there will be no jam at all in a few days. We are working with great speed," he assured, adding that the deadline is a bit away but the works will be completed quite soon.
According to police, tipper trucks and other heavy vehicles damage the road. The vehicles that carry aggregate from river is a constant problem for the newly repaired road section. As the repaired road is disturbed, the blacktopping doesn't last long.
Meanwhile, Kuber Nepali of the Road Division Office, Kathmandu stated that the biggest challenge is the bottleneck at Nagdhunga.
"It is very difficult to carry out any kind of work at the road because it is too narrow. On the other hand, the flow of vehicles is too much," he said.
