Fikkal-Nayabazar road inconvenient for commuting

By Prem Adhikari

Pashupatinagar, Aug. 4: Furi Sherpa, the driver of a jeep that plies along the Ilam-Nayabazaar route, always carries a club and a spade in his vehicle. Sherpa says, "Whenever the vehicle gets stuck, it is not enough, it is a necessity to carry the necessary items." 

Not only him, but all drivers passing along the road, must carry the road digging material. Where the vehicle gets stuck, they have to dig it out.

It has been six decades since the work to make the fair-weather Fikkal-Nayabazaar road began. The Province 1 government has awarded the road construction project of Rs. 540 million to Khanal Construction, and the company has been working at full speed. But the road is in bad condition because of continuous rain in the area. Although gravel has been laid on the road, there is a problem in the neighbourhood after the rain has washed away everything. It takes five hours to drive along the 19 km road.  Bhagwat Prasad Regmi, the chief administrative officer of Maijogmai Rural Municipality, said that there is a problem because the rural municipality is unable to repair the road, which is being constructed by a contractor.

Almost all the rural roads in Ilam district are in the same condition. Most of the villages have been cut off from the headquarters since the rains began at the end of the Nepali month of Baisakh. Phakphokthum, the district's rural municipality, is currently in biggest trouble. Traffic operations have been halted on the road leading to Phakphokthum from Deumai's Targade, Dhuseni, and Phuayatappa.

According to rural municipality chairman Dipendra Khanal, they had to travel on foot from midway, which is 64 kilometres from Ilam headquarters, was closed. 

According to him, the road from Ranke to Kolbote and Phakphok is also closed due to landslides in some places. Even though the distance between the district headquarters and the rural municipality centre is 52 kilometres, travelling on that road takes a whole day. "Doing office work and getting sick is the biggest problem," said Khanal.

It is problematic because the construction company that has also taken the contract for the Ranke-Rabi road section did not work in time. 

Most of the roads connected to the main office of the local levels like Sandakpur Rural Municipality, Mangsebung Rural Municipality, Deumai Municipality, and Ilam Municipality of the district are disconnected from road transportation this monsoon. The continuous rain has caused landslides in some places, and most of the roads have become muddy.

Suryodaya Municipality's all-weather road, which is thought to be the best in the district, is now in shambles. It has become difficult to operate traffic after the roads that were repaired throughout the winter became slippery.

The transportation of food grains has been hampered since the district's road leading to the Indian border area has also become impassable.