This road, considered a 'lifeline' for Lumbini's tourism, had been abandoned for six years due to budget constraints.
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The confusion seen in the work on the Belbas-Bethri 'model' road section, which is being constructed with the aim of making Butwal a tourist hub, has been resolved.
This road, which is considered a 'lifeline' for Lumbini's tourism by connecting Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, with the East-West Highway, had been stalled for 6 years due to lack of budget.
There was confusion in the construction after the federal government handed it over to the province without a budget . Now, the construction work has started with the provision of budget from the federal government. After the federal government provided a budget of 180 million for the current fiscal year to be implemented through the province, further work on the road construction is set to move forward .
Due to lack of budget and coordination between the union and the province, about 3 kilometers of the 22-kilometer-long road are stalled. The project was promoted as a 'bottleneck' on the tourist road . Although most of the road from Bethari to Butwal has been constructed, budget has been provided for the construction of the incomplete section in the Motipur area .
This road, which is located on both banks of the irrigation canal that originates from the Danab River from Belbas in Butwal to Bethari in Mayadevi Rural Municipality, will become a model tourist road in the entire Lumbini Province. While preparing the project, the goal is to make it a destination for 'night tourism' by increasing the water flow in the middle canal and operating boats, and by placing attractive electric lights on the roadside.
The provincial Ministry of Infrastructure Development has stated that there is a plan to organize the canal in the middle of the road and create greenery on both sides, build a 7/7 meter wide road, a 2 meter bicycle lane, and a 1.8 meter sidewalk on both banks of the canal.
The cost of the project, which was prepared in 2073 BS, was 1.67 billion rupees in the initial phase. However, the cost of the project, which has not been completed yet, has increased to more than 2 billion rupees. There has been a budget shortage in the construction of a 3-kilometer road section in the Motipur area (from Bethani to Naharpur).
When the under-construction road was left unfinished, potholes and dust added to the problems of the locals. The Belbas-Bethari road project was divided into three packages and the contract was awarded. Of these, two packages of 12 kilometers each on the south side have been completed for Rs 378.27 million.
However, the work of Bajraguru Kanchharam JV, which had a contract agreement for the construction of an 8.5-kilometer road on the north side of the Butwal-Bethani section for Rs 608.861 million, has not yet been completed. The company has completed a 5-kilometer section. However, 3 kilometers (Motipur section) have been left unfinished. According to the agreement, the road construction work should have been completed by Ashar 2076. However, 3 kilometers of the road are still unfinished.
According to the Road Infrastructure Development Office Rupandehi, the physical progress of the entire road so far is only 65 percent. With 65 percent of the work completed, the construction company has already paid 35.35 million rupees, including an advance payment of 100 million rupees.
Even though construction entrepreneurs have delayed work citing lack of funds, Lumbini Province's Physical Infrastructure Development Minister Bhumishwar Dhakal said that no excuse will be given for this. 'The federal government has assured that 180 million rupees will be available for the current fiscal year,' he said. 'Initially, only a plan was given, there was a problem when the budget was not given, now that problem has been solved, now that the budget received is over, we will ask for more budget again.'
The project's budget cost has also increased as the plan has been left behind for a long time. The cost of this project, which was estimated at 1.67 billion rupees in the initial phase, has now increased to more than 2.3 billion rupees. According to the project's master plan, an additional one billion rupees will be required to fully develop the route as a tourism route, said Bhimarjun Pandey, Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development of Lumbini Province. 'Even if the cost increases, there will be no budget problem now,' he said, 'Resources have been ensured by requesting budget as needed.'
