Tatopani border road reopens after agreement

By Chitra Kumar Mijar,Sindhupalchok, Dec. 16: The Kodari section of the Barhabise–Kodari Highway leading to the Tatopani border point has reopened after the government agreed to begin long-term control works on the Eco Zone, a landslide prone area, within two months.

The road had been closed since December 6 after locals affected by the landslide at Eco, located in Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality–2, including areas such as 10 Kilo, Koplang, Ghattekhola and Kodari, launched a protest demanding permanent landslide mitigation and protection of nearby settlements.

According to ward chairperson Kumar Shrestha, the road was reopened following talks held on Thursday and Friday between landslide-affected locals, led by the ward chair, and officials including the Chief of the Road Division Office, Charikot, Narayandatta Bhandari, and Chief District Officer Bandhu Prasad Bastola. 

The talks concluded with an agreement that the government would start long-term landslide control and settlement protection works within two months.

Locals said the Eco landslide repeatedly occurred during the monsoon, and temporary clearance using dozers and excavators has increased risks to settlements located above and around the landslide zone. 

Despite repeated appeals to address the problem permanently during the dry season, authorities had failed to act, forcing locals to shut down the road. Earlier, on September 18, an agreement had been reached in the presence of ward chairperson Shrestha between the Director General of the Department of Roads, Bijay Jaisi, the Chief District Officer, and the landslide victims to float a tender and begin work by mid-October. When the tender was not issued as agreed, locals intensified their protest by blocking the highway.

The road was reopened after the government allocated Rs. 484.9 million and issued a tender for long-term landslide control.  Locals said they agreed to lift the blockade in the hope that the contract would be finalised on time and work would begin as promised.

More than 400 households in areas including Chaukidanda, Lalbir Chowk, Milan Bazaar, Kodari Gumba, Kudung, Takpasa, Tartrang, Kyusa, Chermang, Damar and Tamang Gumba lie above or around the landslide zone, along with several religious and tourist sites.

Following the reopening of the road, container trucks carrying goods that had been stranded in places such as Khasa and Ramite in Tibet have begun arriving for customs clearance, according to the Tatopani Customs Office.