PANCHTHAR: The oldest road in Panchthar district has become risky in lack of repair and maintenance.

The road, which was first constructed to ease the day to day lives of locals of north-east Panchthar, was built to connect Ringip of India with Prangwung in the district via bordering Sandakpur.

Track for the road was first laid in 2031 BS while the district headquarters, Phidim was connected to road network only in 2039 BS.

Construction of this road had been carried out on the initiative of the then Pradhan Pancha Hem Bahadur Thamsuhang to make the day-to-day travelling convenient. The locals had to travel to the district from Ringip in India carrying salt and rice.

No one has given any attention to the repair and maintenance of one of the oldest roads in the district. Due to this, travellers have to get off along with the drivers and push the vehicles on the road from bordering Sandakpur to Prangwung. A local pick-up driver, Ram Kumar Rai, shared that it takes up to six hours to complete the journey on the 24-kilometre road.

Major portion of the road is filled with potholes and in lack of regular maintenance, the width of the road has started to narrow down.

Stakeholders and locals are of the opinion that attention of the provincial and federal government must be drawn for the maintenance of this 44-year-old road connecting Nepal with India.