The story of a road track which could not be opened even in four decades !

Published On: August 19, 2022 06:00 PM NPT By: Lalit Bista

KALIKOT, August 19: Even after almost four decades of the beginning of the construction of the Seri-Pantadi road in Kalikot, which was started in the year 2042 BS, the work of opening the track of the road has not been completed. Even after 37 years of contract work on different dates, the opening of the track of Seri-Pantadi has not been completed, and the locals are disappointed.

So far only 14 km of track has been opened on the 23 km road from Serighat in Khandachakra Municipality to Pantadi in Mahavai. Due to the delay in the construction of the Seri-Pantadi road, the people of Sukatia, Rarakatiya of Shubhakalika, Gela of Mahavai, Padamghat, Tilagufa etc have to suffer daily.

The birthplace of former MP and Agriculture Minister of Karnali Province, Krimraj Shahi also passes through the Seri-Pantadi road. “When I was fighting for the post of Member of Parliament, I had asked for votes saying that I would complete the construction of the Seri-Pantari road in my own tenure. I allocated a lot of money from the time I became a parliamentarian until I became a minister, but the contractor did not work and the budget was frozen. So far the contractor has not completed the work. Now the people are also saying that the construction of this road has not been completed due to the Thapa contractors”, he added, “The contractor Tara Shah's Sarita Krishna Construction Service delayed the work.”

Ajun Gautam, engineer of Pacific Karna Constructions has said that he was entrusted with the task of opening the 13 km track from Seri to Pantari section. He said, "Gabin pipe work is also being done on the road. Half of the work on the Seri road section is done. The work has stopped now due to the rain.'' Tara Shah, the contractor, said that it was delayed when there was a lot of rock.

Locals complain that the road has not been able to speed up since the Nepali Army did not work due to the presence of many rocks in the section which was taken over by the Nepali Army. According to the Infrastructure Development Office, only 14 km of the 23 km road has been opened and another 9 km is left to be dug. It is a serious question that the public will be able to enjoy the road easily when the construction company starts work with the intention of not completing the work.