Khorsane-Kerabari–Singhadevi road lies in limbo

By Hariprasad Koirala,Urlabari, Jan. 10: A key road project intended to provide a shorter link between Taplejung and Panchthhar districts and the provincial capital, Biratnagar, has been left abandoned six years after construction began.

The Khorsane–Kerabari–Singhadevi road, initiated in 2019 under the Rural Road Network Improvement Project of the federal Ministry of Urban Development, has stalled after the contractor walked away from the project. The contract was awarded on August 5, 2019.

The 25-kilometre road was designed to connect the tourist destination of Jephale in Singhadevi, Kerabari–2 of northern Morang, to the wider road network. Under the original agreement, construction was to begin on August 27, 2019 and be completed by August 24, 2021. The project, contracted to Kancharam Construction, had a total estimated cost of Rs 704.9 million. Despite six deadline extensions, with the final deadline set for July 15, 2023, the work remained incomplete. Consequently, the Ministry of Urban Development terminated the contract on March 27, 2025.

According to Shaligram Devkota, project chief of the Project Implementation Unit in Damak, Jhapa, the Khorsane–Kerabari–Singhadevi road was jointly contracted along with another road in Morang linking Laxmimarga–Dangihat–Banaul–Babiyabirta–Amahibariya. As both roads were under a single contract, separate physical and financial progress figures were not maintained.

“Until the contract was terminated, the combined progress stood at 55 per cent physically and 44.37 per cent financially,” Devkota said, adding that Rs. 351.6 million had already been paid to the construction company.

Of the Khorsane–Kerabari–Singhadevi section, 16 kilometres pass through hilly terrain.  Ward chairperson of Kerabari–2 and road users’ committee representative Prem Bahadur Limbu said the road holds strategic importance as it intersects the Madan Bhandari Highway and links the Bhedetar–Ranke–Ravi road corridor.

“This road would have allowed people from Taplejung to reach Biratnagar via Kerabari without travelling through Ilam and Jhapa,” Limbu said. 

“It would save both time and cost, while also promoting tourism and agricultural trade in northern Morang. With the project stalled, lcoals of the Singhadevi area are increasingly frustrated.”

He added that only 13.61 kilometres of work had been completed north of Kerabari, while the Ramphur–Samewa section remains un-upgraded.

Provincial Assembly member for Morang Constituency-1(2), Khadga Bahadur Basnet, said the issue had been repeatedly raised at the department, relevant ministries, the Prime Minister’s Office and even in Parliament, but without result. 

He informed that Rs. 200 million has been allocated in the current fiscal year to complete the road after the contract termination. Project Chief Devkota confirmed that the re-tendering process has begun and that the proposal for multi-year budget approval has been submitted to the ministry.

The Singhadevi area, home to the Jephale Tourism Development Centre, has begun operating homestays and features Morang’s largest tea garden, a view tower, Magar cultural homestays, orange orchards and commercial cultivation of sweet potatoes and cardamom. However, the lack of a proper road network has severely hampered access.

Locals of Kerabari–2, Singhadevi, must currently travel via Bhedetar in Dhankuta, then Dharan and Itahari, before heading 11 kilometres east to Khorsane and another eight kilometres north to reach their municipal centre.

During winter, small vehicles and motorcycles risk travelling on the dangerous shorter route to Jephale, while in the monsoon season, a 43-kilometre detour is the only option.