Rs. 6.2 billion spent in past two years to repair Karnali Highway

BY PREM RAJ SIMKHADA,Kalikot, Oct. 6: Over the past two years, the government has spent Rs. 6.2 billion solely on clearing landslides along the Karnali Highway. Even light rain causes landslides, leading to frequent disruptions on the highway. This expenditure covers only the last two fiscal years and does not include costs for the current fiscal year.

During the Dashain festival in 2022, continuous rainfall for seven days caused significant damage to the Karnali Highway, prompting the government to spend Rs. 623.68 million through the road board for emergency road repairs. 

Eight contracts were issued to widen the road, construct drainage systems and build retaining walls from Dahi Khola in Kalikot to Lamra in Jumla. But due to delays by the contracting companies, work was only completed last year.

Chaitan Kumar Mandal, head of the Road Division Office in Jumla, said that most of the roads constructed last year had now deteriorated. He said that road conditions were poor in areas such as Gagane Khola, Hulma, Serighat, Sunar Khola, Galli, Molpha, Pili, Chau Khola, Khallagad and Rachuli. 

He said, "Wherever repairs were made, this year’s rains have caused even more damage and it’s difficult for even one vehicle to pass. If repairs aren’t carried out this year, it will be hard to drive in winter." He said that the gabion wall at Gagane Khola, which cost nearly Rs. 20 million, had been completely damaged.

Mandal said that larger landslides had occurred in many more places than before. He estimated that at least Rs. 1 billion would be needed just to remove landslides and widen the damaged road sections. 

Former head of the Road Division Office in Jumla, Leela Bhadur Bhandari, said that there were no engineering standards for the Karnali Highway. He said, "The highway should have been two-lane from the start. Even with subsequent efforts, those standards were never achieved.” He said that the rush with which the army carried out the work might have contributed to this failure to meet the standards. 

According to engineering standards, the journey from Jumla should take only six hours for 232 kilometres. However, passengers are currently forced to travel for up to 24 hours. Political parties in the area, which often resort to electoral slogans, have not made significant contributions to the Karnali Highway. Despite their promises to reach power, they have done little for the highway. The Karnali Highway is a vital lifeline for nearly 700,000 residents in the mountainous districts of Kalikot, Jumla, Mugu, Humla and the eastern regions of Achham and Bajura in Sudurpashchim, as well as the western region of Dailekh. Leaders have complained that the government has not paid adequate attention to its construction. 

Khadka Bahadur Bishwokarma, a former MP from Kalikot and spokesperson for the CPN-UML, said, "If the Karnali Highway could be properly built, it would alleviate half the suffering of the people of Karnali.”

The Karnali Highway was inaugurated in 1991 by then-Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, but it faced challenges due to armed conflict and budget shortages, with construction only completing 15 years later. Due to construction difficulties caused by rocky terrain, the government entrusted the road to the Nepali Army. Additionally, Maoist attack at the Pili camp on August 5, 2005 caused significant human and material losses. In the Pili attack, 75 personnel from the then-Nepali Army, including paramilitary forces recruited for road construction, had lost their lives.