While the frequent landslides and dilapidated condition of the highways are causing suffering to the commuters, the government has given high priority to road safety and landslide management in the upcoming fiscal year. Out of the budget of Rs 34.15 billion allocated for road safety alone, only Rs 3.17 billion has been allocated for sustainable management of landslides.

The government had merged the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Urban Development and Drinking Water to form the Ministry of Infrastructure Development. After the merger of the three ministries, this ministry has received the highest budget of Rs 302.83 billion.

The government has given priority in the budget to immediately remove the obstacles caused by landslides on the highway and start services and for its sustainable management.

After many problems started arising due to landslides on highways, a separate budget has been allocated from the next fiscal year for their sustainable management. - Vijay Jaisi , Director General of the Road Department After many problems started arising due to landslides on the highway, a separate budget has been allocated for its sustainable management from the upcoming fiscal year, said Vijay Jaisi, Director General of the Roads Department. ‘Earlier, a small budget was allocated for landslide management under the title of highway upgrading,’ he said. ‘That budget was not enough. Let’s make a program to focus on this and, as the minister said, sustainably manage landslides that are causing problems on highways across the country within three years.’

He said that work will be done on landslides that are causing problems on highways from the allocated budget. Work is currently underway to identify landslides. ‘We have asked 33 road division offices to select and send the names of landslides that are causing the most trouble in that area,’ he said. ‘The problem of landslides exists on many highways.’ He claims that many landslides that are currently causing problems will be resolved within three years and the work will start from the next fiscal year. Landslides will be identified and designed. Director General Jaisi said that the work will then be taken forward by inviting contracts.

Deputy Director General and Spokesperson of the Road Department Shyam Bahadur Khadka said that the work of making a preliminary list of landslide identification is underway. ‘The work of identifying where there is a landslide problem is underway, but no decision has been made on this,’ he said, ‘We will work by selecting the landslides that are causing the most problems according to the list received from the division road offices.’

Preparations are underway to manage the Balde landslide on the Sanfe-Martadi road section of Achham. The landslide at Daklang on the Kodari section leading to the Tatopani checkpoint along the Araniko Highway is also a major problem. The Road Department has also stated that this has been given priority. According to Spokesperson Khadka, a contract has been awarded in the current fiscal year for the prevention of landslides in Tuinkhola under the Narayangadh-Muglin road section.

Even though the contract is in place, it will be spent from the budget set aside for the coming fiscal year. Spokesperson Khadka said that some landslide management work has already begun. Pawan Bhattarai, the head of the Road Division Office, Ilam, who is preparing to send the names of places with landslide problems, said that the department has asked him to send them. ‘There was a problem with a major landslide on the Mechi Highway this year and in the past, and one and a half billion rupees were spent on its management. Accordingly, we are working in Rajduwali, where there is more problem,’ he said. ‘We have sent it to the department for the management of the Deurali landslide under the Biblyante-Maipokhari Sandakpur Highway and the landslide of Tharpu Bazaar on the Mid-Hill Highway.’ He said that a study has been requested to prevent landslides at Bhalukhop on the Mechi Highway.

The government has allocated a large amount of money to carry out regular maintenance of major urban roads in and around the Kathmandu Valley from next year, with the aim of making them free from dust and potholes. During the upcoming monsoon, the risk of landslides is high on various sections of the Kanti Highway, BP Highway, Nagdhunga-Muglin Road, the Daunne section of the Narayangadh-Butwal Road, Koshi, Karnali, Kaligandaki Corridor, Sanfe-Martadi Road, Bhalubang-Pyuthan Road, Surkhet-Nepalgunj Road, Mechi Highway, Narayangadh-Muglin Road, Galchhi-Trishuli-Syafrubensi-Rasuwagadhi Road.

The areas at risk of landslides along the Nagdhunga-Muglin road, which is being expanded with the loan assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), include Furke Khola, Jhyaple Khola, 13 km, Charkilo, Nagdhunga Tunnel Mouth, Ratmate, near Sheetal Bazaar, Malinga, near Bishal Bazaar, Jyamireghat, Jawang Khola, Mauba Khola and Ghoptebhir. In Asoj 081, a landslide occurred in which a microbus and a passenger bus stopped at Jhyaple Khola along the Nagdhunga-Naubise road killed 35 people.

The government has made a huge allocation for regular maintenance of major urban roads in the Kathmandu Valley from next year, with the aim of making them free from dust and potholes. Rs 28.52 billion has been allocated to run a nationwide road maintenance campaign. Former Secretary Keshav Kumar Sharma said that this is the best program included in the budget.

It is not yet clear whether the entire budget is under the Road Department, said Khadka, spokesperson for the department. ‘When a budget of 10 billion rupees was requested for the maintenance of national highways, only 4 billion rupees were allocated,’ he said. ‘In the upcoming budget, the budget has been doubled compared to the previous budget.’

He said that the budget has been allocated as per the department’s maintenance plan every year and that this will be used to repair and maintain 80 highways.

Similarly, in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, a budget of 2.46 billion rupees has been allocated for road safety by continuing the installation and maintenance of traffic signals, improvement of intersections, road markings, installation and maintenance of crash barriers and dividers on major roads and intersections. The Road Department stated that this will help reduce accidents.