Vehicles from many districts of Karnali Province going to the capital pass through the Baglung section of the Mid-Hill Highway. The traffic pressure on the road is increasing. But before the construction is completed, there is a competition to build houses and huts on the Baglung section of the Mid-Hill Highway of national pride.

In some places, houses and huts have been built, while in others, the road has been narrowed by building other structures. The safety wall of the road has been demolished to make a ghaderi in the well of Kathekhola Rural Municipality Ward No. 6, while houses and huts have been built in the road drain in the market areas of Galkot, Badigad and Nisikhola.

The Mid-Hill Highway Project Office, Parbat has also written to the concerned individuals and local levels to remove the encroachments in some places. The project has also issued instructions to stop the encroachments as the road risks have increased and normal standards have not been taken into account. But the local level has not even set local standards, so some work is difficult, say the project technicians.

Even on the road section where the construction has been completed, the standards are being violated. Since it is an east-west road, the road that needs to be widened at any time is already encroached upon. There is no one to stop or oppose the encroachment. The Baglung section, which was listed under the Highway Project since 2067 BS after the rural road that was opened in 2054 BS by widening it, is narrow in most places. In some places, the standards of the rural road have not changed.

Even in more than a dozen places where the Highway Project Office has awarded contracts and completed construction, encroachment has increased along the road. In Tarakhase of Kathekhola-6, locals have built houses and huts on the road. Similarly, huts have been built on the road and bridge in Narethanti of Ward No. 2 of Galkot Municipality. Hotels and garages are operating in these huts. In Bhimgithe of Badigad Rural Municipality-7, houses have been built on both sides, making it impossible for two-wheeled vehicles to pass. The risk has increased as locals park pickup jeeps and taxis on the road. Locals said that vehicle accidents are happening regularly due to the narrow road. ‘The rural municipality has not made provisions to build houses after approving the map, they are taking advantage of the opportunity and building houses and huts by connecting them to the drain,’ said Ramesh Bikram Shahi, chairman of Nisikhola Rural Municipality Ward No. 3. ‘This happened because they did not take into account that an accident could happen tomorrow.’

Anuksha Ghimire, head of the Highway Project Office, said that the government has not been able to tighten the standards in the Baglung section because the government has not published the gazette. ‘Even if the local level only implements its own standards, encroachment will be stopped,’ she said, ‘Locals need to be proactive to take responsibility for highway services and facilities.’ The Nepal government has made a provision to leave the 25-meter standard on the national highway. Ghimire said that the gazette has been published in the Pokhara-Baglung section of the highway, but the gazette has not been published from Baglung to the Rukum border.’

In Manewa of Galkot Municipality-11, the road has become narrow after the Daramkhola Hydropower Project laid a pipeline next to the road. In some places, locals claim that they did not know about the standards and did not receive compensation. The road is also extremely narrow in the market areas of Jugjakhola and Jhiwakhola in Nisikhola Rural Municipality. The vice-chairman of the rural municipality, Prem Bahadur Gharti, said that the site is not enough to provide when large vehicles arrive. He said that despite the explanation and explanation, some have refused to build houses and huts, leaving the road standards. 'Even though the initiative to build houses is being taken only after passing the map, it is being done haphazardly,' he said, 'If the state does not intervene, there is a risk of facing major accidents.'

Structures are also being built around the road in the Ridi Maldhunga section of the Kaligandaki Corridor, which is nearing completion. Since the corridor is on the river bank, setting the standard of 25 meters will damage the property of many people, so it is not possible to ban more than 15 meters for the time being, said engineer Shivlal Dahal. "Most of the sections are river banks and steep hills, so 15 meters is enough," Dahal said, "Let's work so that rural settlements can also benefit from the highway." He said that even if the locals do not get compensation after cutting off the land, they should not be forced to do so.

Amar Bahadur Thapa, head of the Baglung District Coordination Committee, said that the construction of the 1,700-km long mid-hill highway from Chiyobhanjyang in Panchthar to Jhulaghat in Baitadi has not been completed according to the standards since the beginning. "I don't know what it is like in other districts, but in ours, the road was made narrow from the beginning, and the land that could have been widened when needed has been encroached," Thapa said, "Violating the standards of the road is against the law." Section 19 of the Road Act 2031 states that no public road or other structure can be built without obtaining approval for the road standards. He suggested that even if the highway standards are to be abandoned, the Road Act should be brought into play.