Where there is a difficult and winding road, the demand to build a tunnel has started to increase. People's representatives and parliamentarians of the respective districts approach the Ministry of Finance with such demands. He runs the National Planning Commission. They insist on putting the name of one or the other tunnel in the budget every year to study.

Where the road is long, there is a demand to build a tunnel. In this way, due to pressure, the number of tunnels kept in the budget has reached around two dozen. Only two of them have been built so far. A pre-feasibility study of other tunnels is pending. Only Siddhababa and Nagadhunga-Sisnekhola tunnels in Palpa are under construction. The study of 14 tunnels has been completed by the quality research and development center under the road department. 

Two are being studied and two more are about to start. Two tunnels have been studied through the Development Assistance Implementation Division of the Road Department. But the construction of none has proceeded. With financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Swiss government, tunnel studies have been carried out, but work has not progressed.

Prabhat Kumar Jha, director of the Quality Research and Development Center under the Road Department, will know whether or not construction can be started after the study. "Now the pre-feasibility study of some tunnels has been completed, some are being done," he said, "without the study, we cannot proceed to construction."

The longest currently studied is the Sunmai-Rajdubol tunnel in Elam. According to the pre-feasibility study done in 080, its distance is 12.30 km. According to which, the construction cost is estimated at 42 billion 36 million rupees.

Another long tunnel is Mazhimtar-Shaktikhor tunnel connecting Dhading's Majhitar to Chitwan's Shaktikhor. Its distance is 10.60 km and the cost is estimated to be 45 billion. This is the initial cost and distance worked out during the pre-feasibility study. According to Director Jha, the feasibility study which will be done later in the construction may reduce the distance and cost.

The budget for the financial year 068/69 mentioned the construction of the Nagadhunga-Sisnekhola tunnel. But the construction work started only from October 076. The concept of tunnel construction was mooted as an alternative after increasing daily traffic jams in Nagadhunga uphill. Along with the Nagadhunga-Sisnekhola tunnel, the construction of the budgeted Bhimphedi-Hetaunda has not yet started. In the budget of 2068, it was mentioned that the construction of both tunnels will be started as soon as possible. So far, only the construction of Nagadhunga tunnel has been progressed, the construction of Bhimphedi-Hetaunda is not yet completed.

'Tunnel is not something to be built on a whim,' a senior official of the ministry said some time ago, 'First, the state must understand the benefits of this, how much investment it will take, how long it will take.' The official said that there is more work to spread rumors that the country has entered the tunnel age without realizing it. There is no further progress on the Thankot-Chitlang tunnel route which is supposed to be built.

The most traffic jam in Kathmandu Valley occurs in the Koteshwar-Jadibuti section. As an alternative, the plan to construct a 610-meter tunnel from under the Tribhuvan International Airport near the Munibhairav ​​Temple has been moved forward.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is going to construct a flyover and tunnel in Tinkune-Koteshwar-Jadibuti section with concessional loan support. JICA has done a pre-feasibility study for the construction of these structures. But the further process could not proceed. It took JICA about a year and a half to conduct the pre-feasibility study. It is not yet decided when the construction work will start.

According to former secretary Arjunjung Thapa, the number of tunnels in Hachuwa River is being increased every year so that Nepal's economy cannot sustain it. "As soon as the tunnel is more than 600 meters long, ventilation, lighting, etc. should be arranged, for that we need good grid electricity," he said He said it was wrong to do. "Tunnel is not suitable for a road section that does not pass 10 to 12 thousand vehicles per day," he said. 

Now the study of Teabari-Khurkot tunnel in Sindhuli under BP highway has been completed. Its further work has not progressed. As there are many roads and long roads in this section, the demand of the local people's representative is that the tunnel should be built. Last May, when Sunkoshi went to 'break through' the Marin Diversion Tunnel, the then Prime Minister 

Pushpa Kamal Dahal was asked by a team including local people's representative to proceed with the construction process of the tunnel. The tunnel will start from the foothills above the tea fields of Kamalamai municipality-2 and will exit at the lower bara of Golanjore rural municipality-7.

Both these municipalities have been demanding the construction of the tunnel for a long time. If the Chiabari-Khurkot tunnel can be constructed, not only the road distance will be reduced, but the development of this area will also take a leap, claims Shankarraj Baral, President of Golanjore Rural Municipality. There are many roundabouts on this stretch of road. Passengers feel uncomfortable during the journey. According to the police, there is a risk of accidents in this section due to many turns. If the Chiabari-Khurkot tunnel is constructed, the distance of Terai with Ramechhap, Dolakha, Okhaldhunga, Khotang, Solukhumbu will be shortened.

Quality Research and Development Center has already studied the feasibility of this tunnel in the financial year 2076/77. According to the study, the distance will be 4.90 km. But the distance and cost will be determined during the preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR). According to the feasibility study, it is mentioned that the construction cost will be 16.8 billion. If the Chiabari-Khurkot road tunnel is constructed, the distance of BP highway to Nagbeli road will be reduced to less than one third.

It is claimed that the distance between Chiabari-Khurkot road is currently 29.8 km and will be reduced to 8.5 km if the tunnel is constructed. Now it takes one to one and a half hours to cover that distance. If the tunnel can be constructed, the distance will be covered in 6 minutes. This will be a quick and short route to the Terai District. 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles pass through this section every day. 

During the festival, 7 to 10 thousand vehicles travel every day.

Another problematic road is Narayangadh-Butwal road section in the southern part of Nawalpur. Where the feasibility study of the Dumkibas-Bardghat tunnel has also been completed. According to a study in 080, its total distance is 5.3 km. According to a preliminary study, 38 billion 69 million rupees are required for its construction.

'If the length of the road is to be reduced and the tunnel is to be built according to the traffic, it is necessary to build the Khurkot-Chiabari tunnel in Sindhuli.' He suggested that the tunnel should be built keeping in view the pressure and needs. He said that construction of Dumkibas-Bardghat tunnel is also necessary.

Although many tunnels have been built in hydropower projects in Nepal, the first road tunnel built for vehicles is Nagadhunga-Sisnekhola. Now its construction is in the final stage. The progress of the tunnel, which was started on 4th October 2007, is 84 percent. Lining work is being done inside the tunnel now. Vijay Jaisi, Head of Development Assistance Implementation Division of the Road Department, said that the initial estimate of the operational cost after the construction of this tunnel will be around 400 million per year.

On November 17, when Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli visited China, the Tokha-Chhare tunnel project was also kept under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). During that time, the 'BRI Cooperation Framework' was signed between the high officials of the two countries. Although this project falls within the framework, how the construction process will proceed is not clear. The Nepal government has been asking China to build the project with a subsidy. No decision has been taken on this yet.

076 After completing the study on 1st Jan, a presentation was made by the Chinese consultant to the road department, in which 3 options were shown. According to the study, the distance of the tunnel is estimated to be 4 to 4.5 km. The department provided the necessary documents to the Chinese team. On February 1, 2017, at the request of the Chinese consultant, the data of vehicles plying daily on the three options, Kathmandu-Tokha-Chhare-Vidur, Kathmandu-Okharpaua-Vidur and Kathmandu-Naubise-Galchi roads was provided.

The topic of tunnel construction has been mentioned in the annual budget. A budget of 1 billion rupees was allocated in the last financial year to proceed with the construction so that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) could be studied. But nothing could be done from the allocated budget. According to the road department, funds were transferred to other projects after the budget was not spent. Since

, chief Jaisi said that the loan agreement with the Japanese government for the construction of the Munibhairav-Jadibuti tunnel of the three-cornered section is in the process of being advanced. Under the Siddhartha Highway, the construction of the Siddhababa Tunnel in Palpa is continuing. If there is no problem, its 'break through' is being done on January 2. The total distance of three cross passages is 441 meters. The length of the main tunnel is 1,126 meters. The pre-feasibility study of Sunsari's Dharan-Leuti tunnel was done in 2077. But there is no way to go into construction yet. According to the pre-feasibility study, its distance is 3.87 km and it is estimated to cost 11.13 billion for construction. Now its study report is kept in the road department. 

The study of the Bihun-Narethanti tunnel in Baglung was completed in 079/80. According to the study, its construction cost will be 20.4 billion and the distance will be 7.44 km.

Under the Rara Highway, the study of the tunnel connecting Sangata in Kushe Rural Municipality of Jajarkot to Imilchaghari in Tatopani Rural Municipality of Jumla has been completed. The distance of this section is 10.07 km. According to the pre-feasibility study completed in 079/80, it is estimated that its construction will cost only 33 billion rupees. Surkhet's Babai-Chinchu tunnel study has also been completed in 079/80. According to the study, it is estimated that it will cost 15 billion rupees to build a tunnel with a distance of 5 km.

'Studies have been made to build tunnels in some districts like Surkhet, Baglung, sometimes a tunnel to connect Jumla has also been studied,' said Thapa, 'not even 300 vehicles ply in Jumla a day, building a tunnel in such a place is just a rumor. Yes, it is not necessary in such a place.' "The Dumkibas-Bardghat tunnel in the south of this place is necessary, there is also the possibility of building a tunnel in such a place, it also gives benefits," said Thapa, "but what is the benefit of making long distance tunnels in Surkhet and Jumla?" Even if the tunnel is built, how to operate? Our economy cannot afford it.' 

Rasuwagadhi Betravati road tunnel was named in the list of tunnels. No further progress on this yet. Thapa told that there is no need for a tunnel at that place. He alleged that political parties are adding tunnels only to please the people.

Nareshman Shakya, former assistant secretary of the road department, says that even if long-distance tunnels are constructed, the operating costs are expensive. "There is no point in building a tunnel in a place where there is no traffic," he said, who has been working on tunnel projects for a long time. "Long-distance tunnels are expensive." "Study is necessary to decide whether to go into construction or not, that's why the study was done," said Jha, the director of the Quality Research and Development Center Construction is not possible'

Keshav Kumar Sharma

Secretary, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport

The study of tunnels has been carried out to around two dozen, is the construction of all these possible?

At present only pre-feasibility studies of many tunnels have been carried out. No tunnel should be impossible. It's just that the benefits are/are not as per the construction. Currently, many of the tunnels studied are not cost-effective. Again, by doing a detailed study, the cost can be reduced by reducing the distance. Construction of all studied tunnels is not feasible at present. The construction process is carried out only by looking at the place where the tunnel will reduce the length of the road, save time, reduce transportation costs and reduce traffic jams.

Are so many tunnels necessary?

If our economy is to survive, we need all the tunnels studied now. But not all of these tunnels studied are necessary for now. Where there is a difficult road, traffic is high, it will be beneficial if a tunnel can be built there.

Every year under political pressure, the name of the tunnel is made mandatory in the budget, and only after studying such tunnels, it is stopped, it cannot go into construction why?

Palpa's Siddhababa is an accident-prone area. In that place, construction of a tunnel was very necessary from the point of view of road safety, accordingly we are constructing a tunnel there. There is no political pressure to study elementary level. After studying technically, it will be known if construction is necessary/not. We did not study and build randomly. We have been doing pre-feasibility study and deciding whether it is necessary to build it or not. If necessary, we take the construction of the study process as necessary. & Nbsp;

Tunnel Construction Costs and operations & Nbsp; How can spending costs, how can all the tunches studied in such a situation be made? We have no skilled manpower in

tunnel operations and construction. In the future, we can prepare manpower in our own place. Therefore, relatively construction cost can also reduce. It is the other road to go for us today to be the first road started. This is the operation of the operation. Many will know more about it. We are also working by the shatter now. The fact that what you can run after the construction of the tunnel is real. In this tunnel, many Nepalis have become proficient by working. Technology transfer is being done. The manpower can be used in the tunne of the day tomorrow.