Dhading, October 29

Most of the gravel roads in rural areas of Dhading are in a sorry state after landslides and floods during the monsoon season this year damaged them.

Thousands of passengers have been facing a hard time due to the poor road condition in the district. Blacktopping of most of the rural roads has peeled off for want of timely repairs.

Arjun Gorkhali, former chairperson of Dhading Transportation Entrepreneurs Association, said though vehicles were plying to the northern rural areas from district headquarters Dhadingbeshi during the rainy season, transport entrepreneurs and passengers had a hard time travelling due to the pathetic road situation.

Stakeholders complained that roads in many places were in a dilapidated condition despite repairs every year, due to the use of substandard materials during repairs and upgradation.

The locals rued the use of substandard raw materials though millions of rupees were being spent every year for road repairs.

“If the roads are not repaired immediately, people’s movement and transportation of every day essentials will become problematic,” said Gorkhali.

Consumer’s Welfare Conservation Forum Dhading Chairperson Bed Bahadur Khand said the Dhadingbeshi-Salyantar, Dhadingbeshi-Sangkosh and Tipling, among other road sections, are in a sorry state though these roads have been repaired for the past thirty years and millions of budget is spent for the road repairs every year.

As per the data at the District Development Committee, of the 50 VDCs in the district, 45 VDCs have been connected with roadways. Transport operators complained that none of the government bodies were concerned about the rural roads.

Exhausted with the frequent road repairs, the locals have demanded that the roads be upgraded using quality construction materials. Travelling from the district headquarters to rural areas of the district and vice versa has become risky because of the dilapidated roads.

Meanwhile, a technician at DDCsaid rural roads in the district were in a dilapidated condition due to negligence on the part of the locals.