SARLAHI, NOVEMBER 3

Residents in Sarlahi who have been putting up with the dust from the postal road for years, staged a chakkajam in Kaudena bazaar today, chanting slogans like, 'no road, no vote'.

"The contractor of the postal highway has for long left the Kaudena bazaar section of the road in a sorry state after gravelling it. We met Mahendra Raya Yadav, Rajendra Mahato and almost every other major so-called leaders and informed them about our plight, but to no avail. As they wouldn't listen to us, we had no option but to resort to the strike to protest the inaction," said a protester.

According to Niraj Yadav, the dusty condition of the road has caused many health problems among local residents.

"People are falling ill because of the dust flying off the road due to the negligence of the contractor. However, nobody does anything about it.

Even the so-called leaders do not take any initiative despite our repeated pleas to end the scourge of dust. That's why we had to do something so that they would listen to us," Yadav said. "We will also boycott the election if our concerns are not heard," he warned. The disruption ended from November 1 in the afternoon following an agreement between the local administration and representatives of the Postal Highway Project Office, Janakpur.

Regarding the inordinate delay in work, the contractor clarified that it would resume soon. Hindu, Mainthokar, Sah Construction Service JV had been awarded the construction of the15-km road section of Kaudena bazaar for Rs 250 million. Construction work was disrupted after a worker died and a few others sustained injury in the course of construction in the past. "Following the accident, rainy season and festivals arrived, which is why the work couldn't be continued," the contractor said.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 4, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.