Years on, Nagma-Gamgadhi road still waits for blacktop

By Harikrishna Aidi, Mugu,Dec 31: Members of the federal and Provincial Assemblies have been raising their voices about the plight of  Nagma-Gamgadhi route along the Karnali Highway .However, the government has not lifted a finger to help.

Minister for Forest and Environment Ain Bahadur Shahi, who represented Mugu in the then dissolved Federal Parliament, and Provincial Assembly member and then Minister for Tourism of Karnali Province Jit Bahadur Malla has repeatedly demanded the upgrading of the Nagma-Gamgadhi public road.

The then Minister Shahi said, "Thousands of citizens and tourists visiting Rara have been facing problems for the lack of road upgrading from Nagma to Gamgadhi. Many passengers have lost their lives in road accidents due to lack of road upgrading. When will this death road be converted into a highway?"

The then federal MP Shahi said that coordination is being conducted with the concerned ministries to expedite upgrade the Nagma-Gamgadhi public road.

Commuters traveling on the public road have been facing dusty conditions in winter and muddy conditions during the rainy season, in addition to the narrowness of the road and potholes. 

Ramsingh Rokaya, of Mugamkarmarong Rural Municipality-8, said that years have passed since the Nagma-Gamgadhi road was put into operation, but the concerned bodies have not paid attention to blacktopping it.

Similarly, retired teacher Rup Bahadur Malla, who is also the coordinator of the district civil society, said that the work on the Nagma-Gamgadhi public road has not been done as per engineering standards.

"The public road is one-lane, there is a risk of increasing accidents in Dhumrau. The risk of landslide rises as the road was dug without soil testing. Although there are places where the road can be widened, the concerned bodies have not paid attention to it," He said. 

He is demanding that the road be made at least two-lane.

 According to Malla, 32 passengers lost their lives in a vehicle accident in Tapnekhola, Pina village, along the Nagma-Gamgadhi public road last October.

Driver Hemraj Hamal said that the risk of accidents is high due to the lack of a concrete bridge on the public road, potholes, and a narrow, curvy, one-lane road.

Meanwhile, according to Dipendra Chaudhary, Office Chief of the Road Division Office, Jumla, the concerned ministry has not managed the budget for the speedy upgrading of the Nagma-Gamgadhi public road this fiscal year as well.

Amar Bahadur Rawal, a local social worker from Chhayanath Rara Municipality-8, said that passengers traveling via the public road are suffering.