Tht watch : What’s broken

Madhyapur Thimi, Dec 16:

The inner road that snakes through Madhyapur Thimi Municipality-16 and -17 is in a deplorable condition thanks to substandard blacktopping and lack of drainage.

Many segments of the road that link Sanothimi and Lokanthali are full of huge potholes. Some potholes are big enough to submerge bikes during the rainy season. During traffic blockades on the Araniko Highway, the road is used as an alternative.

Local are under a constant threat of mishaps on the road dotted with numerous potholes.

Bimala Khadka, a homemaker in Madhyapur Thimi-17, said, “The bikers are always on a high speed. If they are stuck in a pothole, they would surely get serious injuries.”

She suggested that the state of the road could be improved by creating proper drainage.

Kedar Khadka, a local social worker, said locals occasionally add gravel to the road. “We sometimes fill the potholes.” He blamed the road division office for not fixing the broken section of the road. “Whenever maintained, the road does not stay in good shape for long due to the use of substandard construction materials,” he added.

Who is responsible:

It is our duty to improve the condition of the roads that are in a bad shape. But we lack enough resources to maintain the roads round the year. This fiscal year, we have got a budget to blacktop some inner roads. Hopefully, they will be fixed.

— Basanta Lal Shrestha, chief of Maintenance Division, Division Road Office, Bhaktapur.