GALESHWOR, July 13: The Beni-Simkhand road in Myagdi district has been blacktopped after 16 years of construction. Blacktopping the road has benefited locals in various ways. With this, the two-hour long travel on foot has now been reduced to only 25 minutes, said Bhuvan Buda, a local resident of Malika-5.
This has benefited people of Mangala, Malika, Dhaulagiri Rural Municipalities in Myagdi district and of Dhorpatan and Dhamja of Baglung district, he said. "This has helped to make supply of goods and transportation easier. We have also got rid of dust and mud," said another local Hari Krishna Paudel of Ranabang.
48 km of Beni-Jomsom-Korala section blacktopped
Trade in the areas is also expected to flourish as a result. Constructed in 2063 BS, 12 km of the total 27 km road has been blacktopped. The blacktopping has taken place in the area where there is no problem of landslide and land acquisition dispute, said Guru Datta Adhikari, acting chief of the Beni-Simkhand Infrastructure Development Office.
Awarded with the contract in 2074 BS at the cost of Rs 450 million, the project was handed over to the provincial government after its completion in 2075 BS.
Biruwa-Caravan JV has won the contract to blacktop an eight km section under the road from Lampata to Darabang at the cost of over Rs 225 million in this second phase. However, the contractor abandoned the project for one year due to various reasons.
(RSS)