Tekendra Deuba

Dipayal, February 23:

The Sahajpur-Bogtan-Dipayal road is still under construction though it was started nearly two decades earlier.

Construction of the road, linking Bogtan area that covers over half of Doti began in 1985. Eagerly awaited by locals of Bogtan, only 25 per cent of the work is completed till date.

The proposed road passes through five hilly VDCs of Kailali and 19 VDCs of Doti on its way to Dipayal. A survey has revealed, the under construction road is 65 km shorter than the presently used Sahajpur-Dipayal road, known as Dr K I Singh Road.

At present, six vehicles ply on the 19 km stretch from Sahajpur to B P Nagar. The dusty road is difficult to negotiate during winter and during the monsoons, it is virtually impassable.

Bhoj Raj Bhatta, chairman of B P Nagar City Development Committee, said though the Road Division Office (RDO) allocates a small budget for road construction which is enough only to clear mudslides during the rainy season. “So many times, we have contributed money and labour for the resumption of traffic on the road. This year, we contributed labour and finance worth Rs 50,000 when our request to clear the mud went unheeded by RDO, Dipayal”, Bhatta added.

The Bogtan area is recognised as the area that produces the biggest amount of ginger in the far-western region. Locals said the road should be completed soon just to find a proper market for ginger and other agro-products as orange and banana.

A local of Bogtan Min Bahadur Bam said the road would enhance the life standard of the growers of ginger, orange and banana.

“Leaders came here with a promise of making this road the centre of their focus during elections, but after the votes were cast, they just vanished”, Bam complained. The RDO, Dipayal has stated that it has already granted a tender of Rs 1.137 million for the road this year. He added that till date Rs 65.20 million have already been spent on the road.

Locals, however, accused the RDO of sanctioning a budget without sending its staff in the field. They added that contractors chosen by the RDO appointed sub-contractors are contributing to the delay.