It has been more than a decade since the construction of the 1,887 km long Madhyapahari public road from Chiwabhanjang in Panchthar to Jhulaghat in Baitadi started. But some of the sections which were blacklisted have not been handed over and have become dilapidated.
As it does not have its own gazette, the project has not shown readiness to remove the structures built on the side of the road. The Road Act 2031 prohibits the construction of structures up to 31 meters in the case of highways.
Madhyapahari Highway is a national pride project of the Nepal government. Out of the 142 km section of this highway in Baglung, only 10 km section remains to be paved. Dilapidated roads will be repaired only after handing over to the
department . The same road has also been encroached up to the drain and the structures have started to be built. From big projects to private houses, the highway is being encroached upon. Yes . The project did not even look for encroachment due to lack of gazette .
Most of the houses built in Nisikhola Rural Municipality are attached to the side of the road . The highway has not been able to remove those houses. In Galkot, Badigad and Kathekhola also, there is a problem in widening the road due to houses and other structures built near the road. In this project Not initiated .
The highway project has laid 7 and a half meters of asphalt in the paved area. Many structures are being built by connecting to the drain on the side. Tank KC of Galkot Municipality-7 said that since the construction started, the road has not been built according to the standards, so the market area has become chaotic and the road is very narrow in other places too. "If we allow construction without determining how many meters the road will be from now on, vehicles will not be able to drive on the highway tomorrow," he said.
Shambhu Acharya, the head of the Madhyapahari Highway Project Office, said that he could not take strict action because he did not have his own gazette. He said that the standard will be maintained by handing it over to the road division soon.
From some places of the capital Baglung Bazar to Kathekhola, Galkot, Badigad and Nisikhola, most of the road sections are being constructed without a place to extend the road . In the 20 km section from Hatia towards Kharbang of Galkot municipality, which has been blacked out, it has been narrowed by drains and blacked out to 7 to 8 meters. It is difficult even to drive a double car after the landslides that fell in the rains are not removed. Potholes in the road cause small vehicles to crash. Passengers of Dhulamme road are also suffering from the black paper.
Daramkhola hydropower project located in Manewa has dug one and a half km of road and laid the pipeline. The road is dusty. Garbage has accumulated in the drain of the road towards Nisikhola, even normal maintenance has not been done . "The road in front of our rural municipality building is damaged, drains are filled, temporary structures are being built, there is a risk of accidents on the road," said Jeevan Pun Magar, the chief administrative officer of Nisikhola rural municipality, "We have not been able to invest because of repeated occurrences." 
The 25 km section from Baglung Bazar to Ghodabandhe has not been completed yet. After the first 13 km section taken over by Siddhisai Bharat Joint Construction Company got stuck and was ready to be blacklisted, the work has started after 9 years through a small contractor . The contract of Surya Construction has been canceled after the second 12 km road section has been stalled for 9 years. The rural road that was opened 26 years ago was converted into a public highway.
"When there were rural roads, two or four vehicles used to ply every day, now vehicles ply up to Rukum, Rolpa, Jajarkot and Dailekh on the public highway. In this situation, the road has become narrow," said Brihaspati Kandel, president of Kathekhola Rural Municipality-6, "Dust on one side, narrow road on the other, there is a risk of accidents." He said that the cattle do not eat grass because they are covered with dust, and the market is not available when the orange groves are closed.
In the rainy season, there is an increase in the risk of road repairs near Jhankristhan and Kafalthuta. Out of the 29 km road in Badigad rural municipality, the broken sections and landslides in Khare, Turture and Nuwar are still the same. Dipendra Chhetri, a jeep driver said that there is a risk of accidents as the highway is a one-way vehicle only. In Turture, there is still only a track of the road. When the widening of the road started, most of the houses had to be demolished. Pun said that at that time, the project will be financially burdened and it will not be possible to widen the road.
In Valkot of Nisikhola-6, even when people are walking, vehicles cannot reach the side. Structures have been added along narrow roads. Engineer Dipendra Bhandari said, "We have not been able to say anything until the road is marked with the right of way. Even though the minimum standards will be met after the road is built, the Public Road Planning Office has not done anything yet."
Even after 5 years of blacklisting, the project has not been handed over to the road division . "There was a delay because the contractor did not hand over landslides in some sections," said Kiran Subedi, information officer of the project's Baglung and Mountain Viewing Office. He said that the road division can exercise its rights after handing over
. He also informed that 50 km transfer towards Nisikhola is being prepared as department level monitoring has started.
Amar Thapa, the head of District Coordination Committee, said that even though there is no Gazette of Lokmarg, the Road Act will be attracted. He suggested that because there is a highway, the builders of houses and other structures should also leave the place and build them. "The Road Act also prohibits the construction of left and right structures, that should be taken care of," said Thapa.
