Khotang, June 10

With Supreme Court’s order banning heavy vehicles on the Sindhuli road section of BP Highway, supply of petroleum products and construction materials to Khotang, Okhaldhunga and Solukhumbu have been obstructed.

Hardware trader Sanman Khadka in Diktel said hundreds of heavy trucks were stopped in Sindhuli following the Supreme Court order. “The trucks loaded in Biratnagar were stopped in Sindhuli,” he said, adding that goods belonging to him worth Rs 50 lakh, which was loaded in six trucks were stopped. “The scarcity of construction materials has hit the districts,” he added. Goods of daily use, among other goods, were transported through Katari-Ghurmi road to Khotang, Okhaldhunga and Solukhumbu from Biratnagar.

Halesi Oil Trade and Suppliers’ proprietor Dhruba Shrestha said the ban on heavy trucks along BP Highway had created problems. Shrestha further said earthquake victims could not complete reconstruction of their houses due to lack of construction materials.

According to entrepreneurs, the SC’s order will not affect the districts if Katari-Ghurmi road section is brought in operation. They said the districts are facing crisis of petroleum products, LPG gas, cement, and iron rods due to the ban on heavy trucks on the road section.

Around eight to twelve thousand litres of diesel, five to eight thousand litres of petrol is needed in Khotang on a daily basis. Nepal Chambers of Commerce and Industry Khotang Chapter Khush Narayan Sainju said that construction work had been badly affected in the district due to the ban on the road section.