Butwal-Gorusinghe road to be wildlife-friendly

By Chhabi Lal Pandey

Butwal, Jan. 17: The Butwal-Gorusinghe road will be made wildlife-friendly by building underpasses for the animals.

The underpasses are being constructed in 19 places of the road section for animals to cross the road.

Of 50 km of the road that is being expanded. 19 km falls into the forest area.

Kushlata Neupane, Chief of the Butwal-Gorusinge Road Project, said that out of the 50-km road from Saljhandi of Rupandehi to Bangai and Gorusinge via Pipra of Kapilvastu, 19 underpasses would be constructed.

The construction of underpasses for wildlife will start from the Kothi forest area of Saljhandi of Rupandehi, which was earlier known as Charkose Jhadi.

The road expansion work is going to start in the mid-January.

According to the project, a six-lane road with a service lane on either side will be constructed in the market and settlement areas. Likewise, there will be 37-metre-wide roads including the service lanes in city areas and 50-metre with service lanes in urban areas.

According to Project Chief Neupane, the construction plan includes six vehicle underpasses, 12 pedestrian underpasses, 11 overhead bridges and 19 underpasses designated for animals.

As the preparation for the road expansion, the houses along the road section have been removed. However, the waiting rooms and electric poles are yet to be removed.

According to the agreement, the road construction started on October 20, 2024, should be completed within three years by October 2027. The Butwal-Gorusinge road section was constructed during the reign of King Mahendra in 1962 and After 62 years, the 50-km road section is being expanded.

About 7.000 trees will be cut down during the road expansion, with the tree marking process completed as a preparation for road expansion.

Chinese Construction Company Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group Corporation and Ashish Nirman Sewa JV of Chitwan have been granted the contract for the expansion of the road at Rs. 13.55 billion.

In the first phase, 30 bridges and 149 culverts will be constructed.