The four-kilometer road from Dobhan Bazaar to Chidiyakhola on the Siddhartha Highway is often disturbed by dust during winter and becomes muddy after the onset of rain.
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Passengers and drivers are always forced to suffer on the four-kilometer road from Dobhan Bazaar to Chidiyakhola on the Siddhartha Highway. During the winter, dust is a nuisance, and when it starts raining, they are forced to travel on muddy roads.
‘This time, we have to face more problems,’ said Khimlal Pantha, who was traveling on a motorcycle from Gulmi. ‘This time, it is more muddy than in previous years.’ He said that drivers of small vehicles have to face more problems. There is a fear of landslides and rocks falling from above, and there is a risk of slipping on the muddy road, he said. Pantha said, ‘Even if there is normal rain, there is a problem of getting muddy and slipping.’
With the onset of the rainy season, it is difficult to travel from Paithedanda near Dobhan Bazaar to Chidiyakhola. Be it winter or rainy season, Gam Bahadur Saru, a motorcyclist from Nisdi Rural Municipality-7 of Palpa, said that he is forced to wear a raincoat at all times. ‘Even if it is better elsewhere, I am very scared by the time I reach Butwal from Dobhan,’ he said. ‘When there is no rain, there is a fear of dust, but when it rains, there is a fear of getting muddy and slippery. According to him, the situation is even more scary from Headbox to Upper Siddhababa.
After the construction of the tunnel started, the road in this area has not been repaired. Due to which, all the RCC (reinforced cement concrete) and blacktopped roads in the past have rotted away . Despite some repairs, they have not lasted even a year There is a problem of rocks falling from above in this area, damaging the road. Until four years ago, the road division had been spending more than 20 million rupees annually on this section in the name of maintenance. After the project started working, the road division has not even carried out maintenance work. As a result, the 4-kilometer road section from Dobhan has become muddy and dusty.
Nawaraj Bastola, head of the Siddhababa Tunnel Project Office, said that he has instructed the construction company China State Construction Engineering Corporation to improve the condition of the road, even if it means placing gravel and sand. He said that he has instructed the construction company repeatedly. ‘This issue has been discussed many times,’ he said, ‘Maybe now it will work in coordination with the municipality and the mining industry.’
Bastola said that some problems have also arisen because the construction company refuses to pay royalties to the municipality. There is now coordination with the municipality and an agreement has been reached to bring ballast from the mining industry. The construction company has stated that it will immediately proceed with the repair work.
In a public hearing held by the District Administration Office, Palpa two weeks ago, local residents and travelers traveling on the highway had complained about the dusty and muddy roads. Chief District Officer Bhavishwara Pandey also assured that the problem would be resolved immediately.
In the meeting of the District Level Disaster Management Committee, there was a serious discussion on the suffering faced by passengers and drivers in the four-kilometer road area from Dobhan. But due to the delay of the construction company, the problem could not be resolved.
Chief District Officer Pandey had instructed the construction company and the project office to work immediately on this issue. Vehicles and passengers from Palpa, Arghakhanchi, Gulmi, Syangja, Kaski, Baglung, Parbat, Mustang, Myagdi and other places use this highway.
