Corridor eases Kali Gandaki locals’ travels to district headquarters

By Tilachan Pandey,Tamghas, Apr. 14: Residents of Kali Gandaki Rural Municipality in Gulmi had to face the ordeal of travelling through three districts—via Mirmi and Galyang in Syangja, and then through Bartung and Ridi in Palpa—just to reach the district headquarters, Tamghas. 

The journey would take at least three days: one to travel, one to complete administrative tasks, and another to return.

However, this long-standing challenge has now been resolved with the opening of the Kaligandaki Corridor.

Bishnu Prasad Pandey, a local, said it is now possible to reach Tamghas from Kali Gandaki in three hours using a private vehicle. He said that he can ride his motorcycle from home in the morning, reach Tamghas in time for office hours, complete his work, and return home by the evening. 

“The corridor has turned a three-day ordeal into a task that takes just a few hours,” Pandey remarked.

Ishwari BK, a driver from Kali Gandaki-3, voiced similar sentiments. He recounted his daily routine of taking service seekers to Tamghas early in the morning for tasks such as obtaining citizenship or passport and returning by evening. The corridor has helped save time and money by eliminating the need to travel through Syangja and Palpa.

Likewise, Laxmipati Neupane of Arbeni shared that he recently travelled through Arbeni, Harmichaur, Rudrabeni and Ridi to Tamghas, completed his office work, and returned home by 1:00 PM - all in the same day.

The corridor has not only improved accessibility but also helped transform the local economy. Farmers in the area are adopting commercial farming, as they can now easily transport their agricultural produce to markets in Syangja, Palpa, and even Butwal. “The corridor has brought remote areas closer,” one farmer said.

The route, once dominated by cliffs, was initially opened by the Nepali Army using controlled explosions about four years ago. Blacktopping work is currently underway.

Engineer Arun Khatri, Information Officer at the Gaudakot-Ramdi-Maldhunga Road Project Office, said that the 21-kilometre section from Ridi to Harmichaur has been blacktopped. The Rs. 623.6 million project was awarded to Sharma Sagun JV in 2020 and is scheduled for completion by mid-July 2024. 

Meanwhile, Kalika Construction is upgrading and blacktopping the 45-kilometre Harmichaur–Balewa section. 

According to Khatri, over 70 per cent of the physical work of the Rs. 3.33 billion project has been completed, and the road is expected to be fully blacktopped within the current fiscal year.