Landslides in Beni-Darbang road bend for 25 years, prevent or find an alternative?

Beni-Darbang-Muna road, 10 kilometers west of Beni, the headquarter of Beni-Darbang-Muna road, has blocked traffic for 8 days due to a landslide that fell in the turning Bhir of the Tatopani-Babiachour road section. Landslides have been occurring continuously in the same place for the past 25 years. The landslide started with the digging of the road. But no one has tried to prevent landslides or find an alternative.

'Beni-Darbang road, the main road connecting the west side of Magdi, has blocked traffic for 7-8 days due to landslides. As the landslides are continuing due to rain, there is no possibility to open the road for some time," said Engineer Arjun Sharma, Information Officer of Infrastructure Office Myagdi, "There has been no audit in any body except for discussions on Facebook and speeches about this landslide prevention or alternative."

Sharma added, 'We are the district body that looks after this road. There is no study to prevent this landslide from the past. If there is an 18-20 meter long trust bridge on the Myagdi River, an alternative route will be prepared. However, the stakeholders of the district are not interested.

The then District Development Committee started digging the Beni-Darbang 24 km road after raising a budget of 20 lakhs for Jiwis and 1-1 lakhs for 20 villages in the western part from November 2016. In the first year, 10 km of road was built up to Faparkhet. When the Beni-Darbang road was started to be dug, the motor had not arrived in the capital Beni.

After the budget of District Development Committee of Myagdi opened a track from Maldhunga in Parvat district to Mallajbeni on the border, the digging of Beni-Darbang road was started by dragging the dozer from Kaligand to Myagdi. From Faparkhet, the Maldhunga-Beni-Darbang road project, then the Dirlip project, came under the agriculture and local level road project under the then Ministry of Local Development.

'Beni-Darbang road was dug 25 years ago in the year 055 by surveying from 056 under my leadership. And the rolling landslide of Faparkhet also started moving from that year. In the beginning, the road was cleared by a dozer/excavator because it fell in small amounts, but now the problem has become due to the spread of the landslide,' said Navraj Sharma, who was the chairman of the District Development Committee of Myagdi at the time. Now it is time to use an alternative way. Efforts have been started.

The rolling landslide, which is discussed as the lifeline of the western part of the district, is located in the border of Faparkhet of Beni Municipality-4 Tatopani and Mangala Rural Municipality-2 Simalchaur. This is a dry landslide spread over a distance of about 150 meters. On the top is the Geiger, and below is the Myagdinadi river. Because the landslide-prone slopes are full of Gegran, even during normal rains, Gegran is washed away and piled on the road below.

Now from Beni, passing through Faparkhet, crossing the concrete bridge over the Myagdi River, we reach Pakher settlement of Mangala Rural Municipality-4. Passengers have to get off at Pakher, walk a distance of about 500 meters, cross the Myagdikhola bridge and reach Simalchaur and board another vehicle. If another motor bridge is constructed over the Myagdi river between Pakher and Simalchaur, an alternative road to Bhir will be prepared at an additional distance of about 500 meters.

'Millions of crores of money have flown in the landslide so far. None available. Now is the time to find an alternative to this landslide. We have started initiatives and efforts. We have also managed land for alternative roads. Unfortunately, this is the case, we have suffered and been insulted because the budget is not due to necessity, but due to the kindness of those who have access to it. Sleeping in winter, screaming when it rains.'