The distance from Humla district headquarters Simkot to Surkhet is 334 kilometers. The fare for a large passenger bus is 17.5 rupees per kilometer.

Although the maximum fare for unpaved roads in other districts of Karnali is 10 rupees per kilometer, the residents of Humla are forced to pay almost double the fare due to the lack of a permanent route permit. Small vehicles, on the other hand, charge 7,500 rupees in the name of reserve.

Not only the fare, it takes about 2 days to cover this distance. A vehicle traveling from Humla stops at Pilichaur on the Bajura border, and the next day it reaches Surkhet after covering a distance of about 10 hours. Passengers going to Nepalgunj have to travel an additional four hours. ‘The fare is also expensive, including hotel accommodation and food expenses,’ said Netra Shahi, a teacher at Kharpu Primary School. ‘We have to stop for food at 3 places, we have to eat lunch at at least 3 places, even if it costs 1,000 to stay at a hotel, it costs 3,000 rupees more.’ He complained that it costs around 10,000 rupees just to reach Surkhet one-way.’ Mohan Rokaya of Simkot Rural Municipality-7 said that due to the long, risky and tiring journey on the unpaved road, he has to rely on air services. According to him, the flights flying from Nepalgunj to Simkot charge 11,814 rupees. "Even though it is more expensive by 2-4 thousand rupees, there is no alternative to taking a plane," he said, "There is a risk of accidents on the newly opened unpaved road. There are no bridges in places and when the vehicle does not reach the turn, the passengers are forced to get off and push the vehicle. It is muddy in the rain and dust in the winter. " He said that even now there is a lot of problem of vehicles getting stuck in the dust in places on the road.      

The spokesperson of the Provincial Police Office, SSP Ram Prakash Shah, said that the risk of accidents is also high due to the lack of turns in places on the narrow road. The statistics of the Provincial Police Office also confirm this. In the 7 years since the road was opened, 36 people have died and 146 have been injured in 73 vehicle accidents in Humla. Due to the delay in the construction of the bridge connecting the district headquarters, Simkot was only connected to the national road network on Asad 22. ‘The road below the Karnali River is overhanging the cliffs, if there is an accident, there is no possibility of finding a vehicle in Karnali,’ said Bijay Lama, a local leader from Humla. ‘We are forced to travel with faith in God, fortunately there has been no major accident so far.’ According to him, the Sallisalla-Daman section is the most risky.’

From Humla, the Midwest Transport Entrepreneurs’ Committee, Hilsa Transport and Battalion Transport Pvt. Ltd. are operating transport services to Surkhet and Nepalgunj. Hilsa and Battalion operate vehicles up to Kathmandu.

Hilsa uses another vehicle from Surkhet to send passengers to Kathmandu, while in Battalion, passengers can travel in the same vehicle. Transport entrepreneurs complain that they are driving at their own risk. ‘We are not allowed to drive on the Karnali Highway at night, so we are forced to stay in Pilichaur,’ said Ramu Shrestha, chairman of Battalion Transport Pvt. Ltd., ‘Despite the dangerous roads, continuous increase in fuel prices, and the lack of enough passengers, we are still driving vehicles of models older than 2022, and we are forced to repair the vehicles every day.’ He said that the Kathmandu-Humla trip will cost 130,000 rupees on fuel alone. According to him, the fare to Kathmandu is 8,100 rupees.

Regular bus service from Humla to Surkhet, Nepalgunj, and Kathmandu started on December 2. Vishal Rokaya, operator of Hilsa Transport Pvt. Ltd., also claimed that the fare is not expensive considering the road conditions as they are driving at various risks.

Humla Assistant Chief District Officer Rajendra Kumar Chand said that the Nepal Army has not handed over the road to the Road Department and therefore the fare has not been regulated. ‘We are operating the road with a temporary route permit until now,’ he said, ‘That is why the fare has become expensive.’

According to Rajendra Karki, Chief of the Transport Management Service Office, Jumla, the temporary route permit has not been renewed in Humla yet. ‘The District Administration Office has to hold a meeting with the transport entrepreneurs and recommend a temporary route permit,’ he said, ‘It is issued every 3/3 months, but the deadline has not been extended recently.’

The Khulalu-Simakot road under the Karnali Corridor connects from Khulalu in Kalikot under the Karnali Highway (Surkhet-Jumla). Passengers going to Humla travel about 138 kilometers through the Karnali Highway. The fare for the 232-kilometer road from Surkhet to Jumla on the highway is Rs 2,000. Transport entrepreneur Prakash RC said that the fare is Rs 8.6 per kilometer. The fare from Khulalu to Simkot, the headquarters of Humla, is 196 kilometers. The fare is Rs 1,190.

Parimal Budha of Sarkegad Rural Municipality-4 said that those traveling towards Humla, apart from traveling on the Karnali Highway, will have to pay a fare of Rs 4,610. ‘The fare is Rs 23.5 per kilometer only towards Humla,’ he said. ‘Due to the high fare, the price of daily necessities has not come down, there is a problem in transporting local produce.’

According to him, the price of 30 kg of rice, which is available for 2,100 to 2,500 rupees in Surkhet and Nepalgunj, is 3,000 to 3,200 rupees, edible oil, which is available for 150 rupees per packet, is 200 to 230 rupees, sugar, which is available for 95 rupees per kg, is 140 rupees, and 50 bags of flour, which is available for 1,380 rupees, is 1,600 to 1,700 rupees. He complains that the price has not come down as the transportation fare is 30 to 40 rupees per kg. ‘There are arbitrary fares in freight vehicles too,’ he said, ‘In ships, it was 125 rupees per kg, we have got relief from that, in vehicles, the transportation fare should be up to 20 rupees at most.’

Under the Karnali Corridor, 40 kilometers of roads are connected to Kalikot, 43 kilometers to Bajura, and 113 kilometers to Humla. But the jeeps are charging passengers without giving tickets, said Gangaram BK of Simkot-3. ‘The jeeps charge the same amount as the reserve, we are suffering from the high fares,’ he said, ‘The syndicate of the committees has also made the bus fare expensive.’ Jagat Budha of Simkot-7 said that even in winter, people are forced to travel on the road built on difficult terrain, fearing an accident.

Humla was connected to the national road network after the construction of a bailey bridge on the Karnali River at Chuwakhola in Kharpunath Rural Municipality-5 under the Karnali Corridor on Asad 22. In the last week of Chaitra last year, after the Nepali Army opened the track of the Karnali Corridor, transport vehicles started plying up to Simkot. But due to the lack of a bridge at Chuwakhola, it took almost 4 months for Humla to be connected to the national road network. The 95-kilometer Simkot-Hilsa road, which reaches the Chinese border, is currently closed due to snow, said Shivraj Sharma, head of the District Coordination Committee, Humla. According to the Simkot-Hilsa Road Project Office, after about 50 locals lost their lives in 2054 BS due to a viral influenza outbreak in Humla accompanied by hunger, the then District Development Committee had planned to connect the road with China as a permanent solution to the food shortage.

Although the Simkot-Hilsa road was started in 2057 BS using the internal resources of the JVS, after delays, the federal government accelerated the work by establishing the Hilsa-Simkot Road Project in 2069 BS. Later, the army took over the responsibility of road construction from Chaitra 5, 2071 BS. The army opened the track of the road in the last week of Chaitra last year after nearly 10 years. The project office has stated that nearly 7 billion rupees were spent on road construction.

Road upgrading work is currently underway under the Karnali Corridor through two planning offices. Upgrading work is underway on 123 kilometers in the southern section (Khulalu-Salisalla) and 146 kilometers in the Salisalla-Hilsa road project under the northern section, said Tula Ram Sharma, head of the Khulalu-Salisalla Road Planning Office. According to him, road widening, retaining wall construction, gravel and blacktop work are underway in 5 sections including Pilichaur-Tumch, Tumkot-Hilsa, Elbang-Chhachhada, Chhachhada-Hekpakhola, and Kuwadi-Tumch.