Six months on, Manma’s main road to market still blocked

By Prem Raj Simkhada,Kalikot, July 21: It has been six months since the main road leading to Manma Bazaar, the administrative headquarters of Kalikot district, was rendered impassable. The road still remains unrepaired.

The obstruction occurred in early February when the road collapsed during excavation work carried out to lay the foundation of a new municipal building. Since then, not only have large vehicles been unable to pass, but even motorcycles have been forbidden from crossing the area.

Locals have expressed deep frustration over the municipality’s prolonged inaction. They blame sheer negligence for the lack of road restoration even after half a year.

Jay Neupane, owner of Birendra Store and a regular supplier to the market, lamented that the continued disruption has led to increased transportation costs. “For six months, we’ve been hauling goods manually via the lower road section,” he said. “If the road had been repaired, vehicles could have reached right outside our shops.”

According to Neupane, the additional labour involved in manual transport has pushed up prices by two to five rupees per kilogram, directly impacting consumers. “We raised concerns numerous times, but the municipality remained indifferent for months. Construction has recently resumed following the awarding of a contract. Still, the pace of work is disappointingly slow,” he added.

Neupane also questioned the rationale behind building a new office structure, noting that the municipality already operates from a well-equipped integrated building constructed last year in the district headquarters. “There was no real need for another building,” he said.

The unused integrated facility had earlier been recommended for occupation by the Office of the Auditor General, whose then-acting head had coordinated with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Chief District Officer to relocate the municipality. This would have allowed rental funds to be redirected toward development work.

Despite having eventually moved into the integrated building, the municipality hastily floated a tender for a new construction project. The selected site, however, is highly precarious, bordered by the busy Karnali Highway on one side and the densely populated Manma Bazaar on the other. The terrain is steep, and the initial excavation led to a landslide that damaged the road, an ongoing risk that still looms large.

Nevertheless, the municipal government remains adamant about proceeding with construction in the high-risk zone, dismissing public calls to avoid further spending and instead fully utilise the government-funded integrated building already at its disposal.