Madhyapur Thimi, September 30:

What’s broken

The inner road, that is connected with the Araniko Highway at Lokanthali in Madhyapur Thimi-16 is in deplorable condition for the last two months. During traffic jams in the highway, the road is used by drivers as an alternative route to reach Bhaktapur from Kathmandu. The road links Lokanthali with Sallaghari through Sano Thimi.

The blacktopped road was dug to relocate drinking water pipes to widen the Koteshwor-Suryabinayak section of the highway. But concerned government agencies have yet to fix the road. Seeing the worsening condition of the road, a local resident Kedar Khadka said that chances of accidents were high in the road. “The Department of Roads used to blacktop this road every year in the past. But it is already more than two months and none of the government agencies are showing up for the repair works,” Khadka lamented.

A local woman running a teashop along the road, said costumers were not coming to her shop because of dust particles in the air. “I used to have good business when the condition of road was good. My business has gone down with the worsening condition of the road,” she said.

Who’s responsible

Basanta Lal Shrestha, chief of Maintenance Division, Division Road Office, Bhaktapur: Though we are regularly maintaining such roads in different parts of Bhaktapur, incessant rainfall is deteriorating the quality all the time. The dense settlement in Lokanthali neighbourhood is another reason because the area lacks proper drainage system. During heavy downpour, rain sweeps away gravel from the road making the potholes larger. The Kathmandu-Bhaktapur Road Improvement Project is widening the Koteshwor-Suryabinayak section of the highway. Such problems will be permanently solved once the project was completed.