Currently, the second layer of blacktop has been completed on all sections except the access road around the Jhaple River and the bridge at Khatripauwa.
What you should know
The second layer of blacktop work has been completed on all sections except for 100 meters of the 12.26-kilometer Nagdhunga-Naubise road section, which has been upgraded. From November 24 to December 1, the work was carried out by closing the section for 5 hours every day. Now, the second layer of blacktop work has been completed on all sections except for the access road around the bridge at Jhaple Khola and Khatripauwa.
Overall, the progress of the section is more than 80 percent, said Keshav Prasad Ojha, head of the eastern section of the Nagdhunga-Muglin road project. “The second-level blacktop work has been completed in the first section, now the third-level blacktop work will be done,” he said, “It will not take much time.”
The contract for the upgradation of the first section has been won by Jangsu-Sagun JV for Rs 1.3 billion. A disabled-friendly sky bridge for pedestrians is also being built in the Khanikhola of this section. The work of special slope stabilization (landslide control) in the Jhaple Khola has reached the final stage. The contract for this section was signed on 29 Chaitra 2078. The work started only on 26 Jestha 2079, about a year and a half after the agreement.
After the work was not completed by 27 Jestha 2081, the deadline was extended to Magh 2081, and the work was not completed. After the work was not completed even after the time was extended to 10 Shrawan 2082, the deadline has been extended until mid-Falgun. ‘There is not much problem in the Nagdhunga-Naubise section,’ Ojha said, ‘Currently, the road needs to be widened in the narrow and dangerous Pokharebhir area of the Galchhi-Gajuri section of Dhading, but the work has not been completed.’
The second section, which is Naubise-Malekhu, is 43.54 km long. Work is underway to demolish the old blacktop and lay the base and gravel on 6 km. Before Asad, the first layer of blacktop was done on 15 km of the road. So far, the second layer of blacktop has been done on 5 km of that section.
Of which, 28.54 km remains to be blacktopped. Ojha said that there are problems due to litigation in some sections. The construction of 9 out of 13 bridges has been completed. The overall progress is 46 percent. The problem is only from Naubise to Muglin. The road has been demolished in many places and potholes have caused problems in vehicle operation. Its deadline has been extended until Asoj 2083. The problem of removing electricity poles in this section remains.
The Electricity Authority has been delaying the removal of electricity poles in the Naubise-Mahadev Bensi and Adamghat-Malekhu sections. A few days ago, when I visited the monitoring of the road, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development Kulman Ghising had directed to mobilize sufficient manpower to remove the poles quickly and proceed with the construction work. 168 electricity poles remain to be removed in this section.
The contract for this was taken by ZICG-Sharma-Lama JV for Rs 5.33 billion 19 million. The work on this section, which was signed on Baisakh 14, 2079, was supposed to be completed by mid-Jeshta 2082, but the deadline has been extended after it was not completed. "The road needs to be closed for another three weeks to improve the Pokharevhir in the Galchhi-Gajuri section," said Ojha. "Even if Minister Ghisingh says that work will be done in three shifts, we will discuss it after deciding as there is a risk of impacting the supply chain if the road is closed both during the day and at night."
Passenger vehicles ply more on this road during the day. Freight vehicles are more prevalent at night. It is seen that closing the road during both times will cause problems, he said. Ojha also said that preparations are being made to work by adding more machines.
Upgrading work is underway on the 94.66-kilometer road from Nagdhunga to Muglin. More than 12,000 vehicles ply on this road every day. However, the road upgrading work has not gained momentum. Currently, the biggest problem is in the third section, Malekhu-Muglin. The progress of this section is very low. The road has been demolished everywhere in this section. There are many potholes. Traffic jams occur for a long time due to the lack of adequate traffic police on the road.
The distance of the third section is 38.86 km and the construction progress is only 35 percent. Sharma-ZICG has taken the contract for Rs 4.80 billion 5.9 million. According to the agreement signed on 15 Paush 2079, the work should be completed by 2082 Paush. Sajna Adhikari, Chief of Nagdhunga-Muglin Road Project, West Section, said that there is a problem in increasing the progress of the work due to the shortage of construction materials.
‘Currently, there is only enough construction materials for a small section, work is being done to procure more,’ the official said, ‘An environmental impact assessment (EIA) was conducted to extract construction materials from Lamabagar in Malekhu, but construction materials have not been extracted from there.’ The locals have not allowed the construction materials to be extracted. The official complains that progress has not been made due to the shortage of construction materials. The official said that even when it is time to work and progress can be increased, they have to face the shortage of construction materials.
So far, 8.1 km of the four-lane road in that section has been blacktopped. Due to the geographical conditions in this section, two, three and four lane roads are being constructed in some places. So far, more blacktop has been done in the market sections including Benighat, Fisling, Kurintar. The Planning Office has a target of blacktopping 20 km of the 38.86 km road in the current fiscal year. Construction of four out of six bridges has been completed. ‘During the Gen-G movement, the asphalt plant and crusher in this section were damaged,’ she said. ‘It took three months to bring technicians from India to repair it, now the machine is running.’
