Karnali Highway still incomplete after 31 years, remains an election promise

BY PREM RAJ SIMKHADA,Kathmandu, Mar. 13: The Karnali Highway has remained incomplete for more than three decades, despite repeatedly being raised as a major election issue by political leaders.

Passengers travelling along the highway are forced to take risky journeys due to its poor condition. The narrow one-lane road, often covered with dust in dry weather and mud during rainfall, frequent landslides and repeated accidents has continued to cause hardship for both local residents and tourists.

Although political parties have repeatedly promised to upgrade the highway during elections, little progress has been made. The delay has directly affected development in the Karnali Province and limited market access for local products.

The highway was first inaugurated in 1991 by then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and has been an election agenda since 1994. However, the project remains incomplete.

The 232-kilometre highway came into operation on April 12, 1980. According to the Department of Roads, around Rs. 1.13 billion has been spent to construct 14 bridges along the highway, while nearly Rs. 2 billion from the World Bank has been used for blacktopping with Otta Seal technology and building retaining walls and safety barriers. Despite these investments, the condition of the road remains wretched.

In 2015, blacktopping work was carried out under the federal government’s Road Sector Development Project with financial support from the World Bank. The Road Division Office Jumla said nearly Rs. 700 million has been spent on the road in the past three years alone. However, about 80 per cent of the asphalt has peeled off, making the road muddy during rain and dusty in dry weather.

Bus driver Dirgha Bahadur KC said driving on the highway is extremely difficult. As many sections of the road are only wide enough for one vehicle, drivers often have to reverse to allow vehicles to pass each other. While reserved vehicles can reach Jumla from Surkhet within a day, passenger buses usually have to stop overnight in Kalikot District.

“The road is only about five metres wide in most places, and many curves are poorly designed, forcing drivers to reverse while driving,” KC said, adding that vehicles frequently suffer tyre bursts and mechanical damage due to potholes and the fragile terrain.

According to the Karnali Province Police Office in Surkhet, the risk of accidents along the highway remains high. Police data show that 901 people have died and 1,527 others have been injured in road accidents on the highway since 2015.

Among the deadliest incidents were a crash in Kitu of Dailekh District in March 2010 that killed 42 people and another accident in Serabada, Birtamod area of Kalikot District in October 2012 that claimed 28 lives. In the past three years alone, 301 people have died and nearly 800 others have been injured in accidents on the highway.

Chief of the Karnali Province Police, Deputy Inspector General Jayraj Sapkota, said accidents are increasing due to the narrow and difficult road conditions, overload of passengers, old vehicles and disregard for traffic rules.

Former chief of the Road Division Office Jumla, Leela Bahadur Bhandari, said the highway was not built according to proper engineering standards. He said the road should have been constructed as a two-lane highway from the beginning.

“According to engineering standards, the 232-kilometre journey from Surkhet to Jumla should take about six hours. But passengers are now forced to travel for up to 24 hours,” he said.

The highway, which was initiated in 1991, faced delays due to the armed conflict and lack of budget and was completed only after 15 years. Because of the rocky terrain, the government later assigned the construction work to the Nepali Army. Although the road was eventually completed, it has not been properly upgraded.

Political parties in districts such as Dailekh District, Jumla, Mugu District and Kalikot District have frequently raised the highway’s improvement as an election promise, but locals say the issue is often neglected once the elections are over.