Project of National Pride According to the government's plan to build ten model cities on the Madhyapahari Lokmarg, work is also being done in Burtibang in Baglung. Burtibang was declared to be a new city in 2069. In the financial year 2072/073, the government had moved the work forward by allocating the budget.
Even after 12 years since the project started, the work has not been completed relatively. It was established as a market in Burtibang before 2069. Although it is said that it will be organized further, due to insufficient budget and not being able to fully implement all the budgets, it seems that the work has been delayed.
The goal was to complete the project from 2069 to 2090. Since the start of the project, the government has allocated more than 780 million rupees. Of that, only 50 crores have been spent. The new city project still has many infrastructure areas to work on. Project Office Information Officer Komal Shah informed that so far, 16.3 km of road slopes, 6.3 km of drains, 5 km of new road tracks, a meeting hall, an integrated building in Kutthyapla, construction of an amusement park, installation of solar lights at two 72 locations, and purchase of 56 plantations of land have been completed by the
project. He said that the construction of the bus park and terminal building is currently underway.
He said that only five percent of the allocated funds have been spent. At present, the access road from Tarikhet to Kuthyapla, the construction of a park, the road from Karvadhal to Dule and the sports field in Bhabreta are being constructed. Burtibang Bazar is the second largest commercial center of the district and the gateway to Dhorpatan, Nepal's only game reserve.
Even though the traffic is increasing in the market area, the condition of the road is still the same. According to information officer Shah, there is a lot of work to be done in the area identified as a new city, such as black paper road construction, systematic electrification, water supply, sewage management, parks, playgrounds, entertainment places, hot bazaars etc. Even one billion rupees has not been allocated for this project.
Government so far 4 crore 47 lakh in FY 2072/073, 8 crore 22 lakh in FY 2073/74, 160 million 40 lakh in FY 2074/75, 13 crore six thousand in FY 2075/76, 7 crore 57 lakh in FY 2076/77, 6 crore 73 lakh in FY 2077/78, 120 million 6 lakh in FY 2078/79, FY 2079/80 183 million in FY 2080/81 33 lakhs and 9.95 lakhs was allocated in the current year.
The New City Planning Office said that every year the size of the budget is decreasing and it is not able to work according to the target. Kulam Bahadur Gharti, a local, said that although a budget of crores of rupees is coming for the new city, the work is not as expected. He says that even though the project office has gradually reduced it, it has not been visible. Gharti said that roads, drinking water and bus park are used more by common citizens and none of these infrastructures are organized.
He said, 'It's been 10/12 years since the construction of this new city has started, but it doesn't seem like a dynamic structure has been made yet, Burtibang Bazar still has a narrow road, it's difficult to go back and forth, travelers take risks on the narrow road, waste management has not been done, there should be some difference after the work, but nothing much has changed.'
According to the New City Planning Office, structures such as bridges, playgrounds, roads, hot bazaars, and cold storage are yet to be constructed in Churelawas.
