Section of Mid-Hill Highway handed over in Rukum

BY RAJU LAMICHHANE,Rukum West, July 25: A section of the Mid-Hill Highway in Rukum West has been handed over to the Road Division Office.  According to Amit Kumar Mandal, acting chief of the Mid-Hill Highway Project Office in Dailekh, a 61-kilometre road section from Chaurahajari to Sankhadhuri of Musikot Municipality was recently handed over to the Division Office. 

The Mid-Hill Highway covers a 67-kilometre area in Rukum West. Mandal said that the road was handed over to be effective from July 16 after completing all construction work. He informed that the construction work on the remaining six-kilometre road from Sankhdhuri to Rukum West was ongoing as per the contract. 

There is a high risk of landslides in the Kitni area, with both ground subsidence and landslide risks from the upper part.

Tejashwi Sharma, Division Chief of the Road Division Office in Chaurjahari, said that three sections of the road in Rukum West had been handed over. The sections from Sankhadhuri to Sitalpokhari, Seri Village to Hansibang and Hansibang to Chaurjahari have been transferred to the Division Office. 

According to Sharma, from now on, the Division Office will handle road maintenance and minor construction works in this section. However, major issues like landslides will remain under the Mid-Hill Highway's responsibility, he added. Additionally, the Road Division Office had already started construction work here.

With the onset of the rainy season, landslides in various parts of the region have caused problems for travellers. Previously, with the Mid-Hill Highway's office located in Dailekh, there were delays in immediate repairs and workforce mobilisation. Now, with the Road Division Office located in Chaurjahari itself, locals believe this issue will be resolved.