Madichair-Ghartigaon road blocked, passengers killed

The road section named Madan Bhandari from Libang to Madichour has been blacked out. Beyond that, the road section of about 14 km long is unpaved. The road, which is narrow and under construction, is blocked every rainy season. The road from Madichour to Ghartigaon is closed and in bad condition, so the means of transport are not operating. Although most of the vehicles are plying in winter, during the rainy season, mud falls from the top of the road and the road itself collapses and the traffic is stopped, so it is difficult for the means of transport and the passengers.

Even though it is a very old and important road, the road from Madichour to Ghartigaon is in a blocked condition due to non-repair. Due to lack of interest in repairing the road, which is half of Rolpa Municipality and Madi Rural Municipality, the means of transport have not been able to run regularly. Bhimsen Ghartimar, Chairman of Jaljala Himal Transport Pvt. Ltd., said that because the means of transport could not be operated safely on this road, the means of transport had to be brought from Libang to Darbot and Ghartigaon via Korchabang.

According to him, because the road is very narrow and not reliable, the means of transport could not be used. According to the Pvt. Ltd., the transportation means to Ghartigaon and Thabang through Darbot takes more time and the fare has to be increased. If the car going to the same place is taken through another road, the fare will be higher. If the lower road was repaired, that trouble could have been removed," said Ghartimagar, president of the company. By doing this, passengers who reach Ghartigaon pay almost double the fare.

There is a complaint that the local level has shown little interest in repairing and improving the road that was built about a decade and a half ago. Since both local levels are repairing the roads in their respective areas, the situation is not the same. "Since the roads have not been repaired, we have operated the means of transport with risk," said Ghartimagar. Currently, the said committee has more than 60 small vehicles and half of them are operated through this road. Since the road is very narrow, only small vehicles (Jeep) are operated.

Buses are not operating on that road. From the beginning, the consumers have been saying that the fares will be reduced if they make wide roads that can be operated by buses and operate public transport vehicles. If the roads are improved, consumers hope that Jeep will also reduce fares.

Amar GM, a local teacher, said that it is sad that the road, which was initially constructed by the road division office at Pyuthan, was left standing for a long time. According to the Rolpa-based Road Infrastructure Development Office, the confusion about which office will take over the construction of the road has led to less interest in the road. Engineer Lok Bista said that even though it is a very important road, it has not been given priority to complete the construction and improve it.

There is a plan to proceed from Madan Bhandari Marg east through Pyuthan's Chakchake from Sulichour in East Rolpa and bring the road to Libang. A road is being constructed from Libang to Madichour, Ghartigaon, Ot, Jinabang with plans to reach Salyan and Surkhet. As the road construction office is located in Gulmi in the east and Surkhet in the west, the road construction plan in Pyuthan, Rolpa, Salyan sections has been stalled.