Lalitpur, November 17:

After a five-decade-long halt, the District Development Committee (DDC), Lalitpur, is making preparations to begin work on the 92-km Kanti Rajpath Marg project. Once completed, the road will connect remote villages of Lalitpur with Makwanpur.

The DDC has allocated Rs 8.5 million for this alternative road, which is shorter in comparison to the Tribhuvan Highway. Once completed, it will connect the Hilly regions of Lalitpur with Makwanpur. According to Badri Bahadur KC, chairperson of the DDC, Lalitpur, the project was envisaged in 1956 and the Royal Nepali Army had begun working on it after King Mahendra inaugurated the dirt road of Kanti Rajpath Marg in 1958.

“Though close to the capital, 21 VDCs lying in southern parts of Lalitpur district do not have access to electricity, telecommunication and roads,” said KC. Once the road is constructed, the locals of these VDCs will be able to sell their agricultural and dairy products in urban areas.

The road up to Thiling, Makwanpur, had been constructed with the financial assistance of the World Food Organisation in 1988, KC said. During the same period, the road connecting Lele with Chaberi was also connected, KC, who was the DDC chairman then, said. With only 14 km left to connect the Makwanpur-Lalitpur border, the project has been forgotten altogether since then, he said.

Stating that Makwanpur DDC had also shown willingness to construct the road, he said: “We are determined to complete the project this time.”

Stating that the Kalche bhir, the site of frequent landslides, posed a problem in making the road functional, KC said measures will be taken to address the problem.