BAJURA, SEPTEMBER 29
The disrupted Amkot stretch along the Sanfe-Martadi road section of Bajura is unlikely to resume before Dashain this year. As there is no sign of the road that has already been disrupted for four months resuming anytime soon, it is sure to cause problems to the locals.
As the road remains disrupted, it has affected thousands of people in the north of Bajura and neighbouring districts Humla and Mugu. While it has pushed the prices of daily commodities up significantly amidst the festive season in the upper belt, it has also caused hassles for people returning home to celebrate their festivals.
Though Road Division Office of Sanfebagar, Achham, had initiated work to open an alternative road months ago itself, the work hasn't seen the light of day. "We had allowed the road authorities to use our property to develop an alternative road, but unfortunately the work could not be completed. Later, they had tried to open a road from above the point where a landslide had occurred and damaged the road. But as we protested owing to the risk, the proposed road work was stopped again," shared local Arjun Prasad Jaishi.
On his part, Road Division Office Sanfebagar Chief Bibash Basnet informed that work on only 800 metres of the alternative road was left now. "The work was stopped as the dozer at work there went kaput. Later, we tried to open an alternative road from the same place where there was a landslide, but it was not possible due to the locals' protest," he said.
Chief District Officer Prakashraj Adhikari, on his part, said attempts were under way to open the road through the point where landslide occurred.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 30, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
