Service track construction delay, disrepair ruins six-lane road

Published On: August 8, 2016 12:10 AM NPT By: Krishna Kisi


BHAKTAPUR, Aug 8: The condition of Kathmandu-Bhaktapur road section is deteriorating every other day due to negligence of concerned authority.

The country's first six-lane road, which is 9.1 kilometer and extends from Koteshwar to Surya Vinayak, was completed nearly five years ago with the assistance from the Government of Japan.

The Japanese government had started construction works in 2008 and it was completed in 2011 after which it was handed over the road to Nepal.

Nepal government has been unable to carry out basic construction of the road section even after five years of the operation.

Progress on the long-awaited service tracks along the six-lane road is at a snail pace. The government had agreed to construct 150-meter service tracks on both sides of the road.

Similarly, overhead bridges along the road section are not properly maintained. The overpass at Kaushaltar has been dysfunctional since the last nine months, making the road unsafe for pedestrians, said Kedar Bahadur Khadka, a local of Kaushaltar.

According to the chief of the Kathmandu-Bhaktapur Road Project Bharat Kaji Deuju, the construction of the overhead bridge at Kaushaltar will start from next month. "The construction work was halted due to continuous rains," Deuju said.

 He also said that obstruction from locals at various points was also responsible for the delay, he said.

"The construction would have been completed long ago had there been no obstruction from locals," he said.

Pedestrians and motorists are compelled to wade through waterlogged sections of the road when it rains. Several stretches, including Madhyapur Thimi Chowk, Shrijana Nagar of Sallaghari, Ghalante, and other parts get inundated due to lack of proper drainage, said Sagar Shrestha, a local of Madhyapur Thimi.

The railings along several sections of the road are damaged. As a result, pedestrians are seen crossing the road recklessly, said Yagya Bahadur Karki, a resident of Surya Binayak.

"The poor state of the first six-lane road is a reminder that our government is incapable of taking care of the international standard roads," Karki said.


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