Restored Churiamai tunnel road entrusted to Hetauda Sub-Metropolis

By Rammani Dahal, Hetauda, Dec.23: The restoration work of the 107-year-old tunnel route built on Chure Mountain to connect with Terai through Hetauda has been completed.

The provincial government of Bagmati Province has handed over the tunnel road, which was buried in lack of repair and maintenance, to Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City for operation after its maintenance and repair work. 

With the handover of the tunnel to Hetauda to the sub-metropolis on Monday, the tunnel will be opened to the public. 

 The tunnel which was built more than a century ago through Chure Mountain was buried in the middle part of the tunnel making it difficult to cross through.

The historic Churiamai tunnel road has been reconstructed in view to make it a tourist destination through the transportation infrastructure directorate of the Bagamti Provincial Physical Infrastructure Development Ministry.  

The tunnel went out of operation with the construction of a black-topped road by cutting (box cut) in the Chure mountain range. 

The spokesperson of the directorate Engineer Chandra Dev Bhatt said that the tunnel is being handed over to the Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan Municipality as all the restoration work has been completed. 

He said that the tunnel will be handed over on Monday in a way that the sub-metropolis will bear the responsibility of security, protection, and its usage. It will be developed as a tourist destination. 

The spokesperson of the Hetauda sub-metropolitan municipality Sabin Neupane said that the sub-metropolitan municipality has made a procedure for operating the tunnel following the handover of the provincial government adding that the sub-metropolitan municipality will charge the tourists for entering the tunnel.

Currently, only 225 meters of the tunnel are left to be restored. 

Directorate Spokesperson Bhatt said that Rs 36.2 million has been spent for restoration. 

Of the originally 500-km long tunnel built in 1917, the provincial government is now reconstructing a 198-km tunnel that falls on the East-West Highway.

 The tunnel reconstructed is 198 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, and three meters high. The Department for Archaeology has also coordinated the reconstruction work.