Due to the complex geographical structure, there are always problems in the operation of freight vehicles. The Rasuwagadhi border crossing has been closed since July 24 after floods washed away the concrete bridge over the Lhende River.
An implementation agreement was signed between the authorities of the two countries in 2019 to upgrade the Syafrubensi-Rasuwagadhi road with a grant from the Chinese government. However, the work of upgrading has not yet begun. The distance from Syafrubensi to Rasuwagadhi is 15.5 kilometers. This road connecting China needs to be upgraded to two lanes. The upgrade is finally underway.
The floods and landslides that occurred in Asad last year have damaged various sections of the road. As the Bhotekoshi River was cutting down from below, there was a problem in operating the road immediately. Now the road has been brought into operation as it should. Due to the complex geographical structure, there are problems in operating freight vehicles. The Rasuwagadhi border crossing has been closed since Asad 24 after the flood washed away the concrete bridge over the Lhende River.
China has completed the construction of a temporary bailey bridge on the Lhende River. The bridge has not yet been put into operation. Once the border crossing is put into operation, it is expected that there will be problems in vehicle movement due to the narrow road. Around 100 freight vehicles ply this road daily during the border crossing. The Chinese company is starting construction work from February, the construction period of which will be 39 months.
Although it was said that its work would start in 2019 with the grant of the Chinese government, the work could not be completed for 3 years in between, said Vijay Jaisi, Director General of the Roads Department. ‘Covid appeared while the work was starting, then the Chinese team did not come to Nepal,’ he said, ‘Now they are building the necessary camps for construction.’ He said that the land for the residence was provided by the Nepal government itself. ‘The work was delayed due to another problem, there was a need for tax exemption on construction materials,’ he said, ‘It took the Ministry of Finance 6 months to get this approved.’
According to the department, tax exemption has been granted on stones, gravel, and sand. Now, the problem of removing electricity poles has been added again. ‘But, it would have been better not to build the road first,’ he said, ‘otherwise it would have been destroyed by the floods in Asar. It is a geographically difficult section, so it took a long time to temporarily put it into operation after the floods destroyed the road.’ Jaisi said that after the floods destroyed the road, the work is being done by changing the 2019 design. The contract for the road was won by the Chinese company Xichang Tianlu Company for 6.5 billion rupees.
Preparations are underway to start the construction of this road, said Krishnanath Ojha, the planning chief of the Galchhi-Trishuli-Mailung-Syafrubensi-Rasuwagadhi Road Planning Office, Bidur. ‘The problem is that the border crossing is not open. Only after the border crossing is opened, machines and construction materials will come from China,’ he said. ‘The construction work will start from February.’ He said that the Chinese company has demanded that the entire vehicular movement be stopped for 15 days a month to work.
‘It is difficult to build the road without stopping the vehicular movement, there are more difficult sections, and it is not possible to build the road without digging the mountains,’ Ojha said. ‘There is a risk of accidents if vehicles are driven while digging the mountains. Therefore, we have informed the District Administration Office, Rasuwa that the work should be done by stopping the vehicular movement.’ He said that the work was delayed for some time after the flood washed away the bridge over the Lhende River. ‘The Chinese side seems eager to work now,’ he said, ‘and now it seems that there will be a problem with cutting trees again.’ The Planning Office says that even though the Forest and Langtang National Park have conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the trees have not been allowed to be cut.
‘We are receiving letters from the Forest and Park saying that trees cannot be removed without our permission,’ Ojha said, ‘The Planning Office, Park and the construction company are preparing to jointly verify how many trees will be affected in the road construction.’ He said that if another EIA is required, the construction will be delayed. ‘If it were according to the previously approved EIA, the work would have been done faster,’ he said, ‘Work is being done immediately in places where trees will not be affected. Again, not many trees will be affected in this section.’ Meanwhile, the upgrading of the Galchhi-Mailung-Syafrubensi road is also being delayed. The total distance of the road is 65 km, which has been divided into two sections and contracted.
Overall, the progress of this section is only 82 percent. The first section is Galchhi-Mailung. The distance of this section is 46 km. The second is Mailung-Syafrubensi. The distance of this section is 19 km. ‘We broke the contract two years ago after there was no work on the second section,’ Ojha said. ‘After the landslide, we have asked them to review the previous design. The detailed project report (DPR) is being finalized. We will award the contract after it comes.’ He said that there is still a problem in demolishing houses and huts in Bidur and Betravati. The road will be made two-lane and four-lane in the market area.
Rasuwagadhi checkpoint not yet operational
Rasuwagadhi checkpoint has been closed since 24 Asar after the flood in the Lhende River washed away the concrete bridge. Prepared goods, apples and other fruits were imported through this checkpoint. About 100 containers used to move around daily. Most electric vehicles used to enter through this checkpoint. But now the import is closed. Although a bailey bridge has been installed on the Lhende River, there is no sign of opening the checkpoint, said Tulsi Prasad Bhattarai, Chief Officer of the Rasuwa Customs Office.
Rasuwa Chief District Officer Rajesh Panthi said that the Chinese side has informed that the final load test will be conducted on the bailey bridge on Tuesday and then a meeting will be held in the presence of officials from both countries to decide the date for opening the checkpoint.
‘No official letter has been received regarding this. Work is also underway on the flood-damaged road on the Chinese side,’ he said, ‘According to what has been said so far, the checkpoint will open by December.’ The Customs Office has stated that the locals have lost their livelihood due to the long closure of the checkpoint. The Rasuwa Customs Office has set a revenue collection target of Rs 40.16 billion in the current fiscal year. Since the checkpoint is closed, revenue has not been collected since the start of the new fiscal year.
