Budget sought to complete Postal Highway works

By Govinda Sharma,Banke, Jan. 15: Work has commenced to complete the remaining 50 kilometres of road construction along the Postal Highway (Hulaki Rajmarg) in the border region of Dang and Banke districts. 

According to the Postal Highway Directorate Project Office, Nepalgunj, road construction work is still pending on around a 50-kilometre stretch from Baijapur in Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality of Banke to Gaugadi in Rajpur Rural Municipality of Dang.

Lila Bahadur Bhandari, Chief of the Project Office, said that in the first phase, the process has been initiated to construct about 25 kilometres of the road in the Dang section.

“Files have been submitted to the National Planning Commission to ensure funding for the project. Once approved, construction work will move ahead,” Bhandari said.

Most parts of the road currently have only a basic track open. The total estimated cost of the project is around Rs. 3 billion.

Similarly, about 25 kilometres of road from Hadbas on the Dang border to Baijapur in Banke, where the Postal Highway currently ends, also remains to be constructed. The project office said construction of the Banke section will begin after approval of the Dang section.

Compared to the Dang section, the remaining stretch in Banke is geographically more difficult, with rocky terrain and higher risk. Once completed, the Postal Highway will serve as an alternative east-west route for districts in western Tarai.