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Kanti Highway with a 70-year-old history that can only be remembered in trouble

लगानी न्यूज

Lalitpur. Due to the obstruction of the Prithvi Highway, the main road leading to the country’s capital Kathmandu Valley, the traffic of goods vehicles (trucks and containers) is currently on the Kanti Highway.

Cargo and passenger vehicles from Hetauda will enter Kathmandu via Tribhuvan Highway and empty vehicles from Kathmandu will reach Hetauda via Kanti Highway. The Kathmandu-Muglin road section of the Prithvi Highway has been completely disrupted after the flood in the Trishuli River cut off the road at Krishna Bhir of Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality-7 in Dhading on August 30. Even though the alternative track has been opened, it will take more time to ease the operation and transportation. The Kanti Highway has become the charioteer of this crisis.

The starting point of this road connecting Lalitpur and Makwanpur is Tika Bhairav of Godavari Municipality-6 in Lalitpur. To reach Tika Bhairav, two roads can be used via Chapagaun Dobato of Ring Road Lalitpur section and Nakkhu corridor from Ekantakuna. At present, vehicles leaving the valley go to Hetauda via Kanti Highway via Tika Bhairav via Ekantakuna.TAG_OPEN_div_58

Landslides have to be faced in different places to reach from Tikabhairav of Godavari Municipality-6 in Lalitpur to Bhimphedi Rural Municipality of Makwanpur. According to Madhav Prasad Ghimire, Supervisor of the Kanti Highway Scheme, the road has been obstructed due to landslides in different places of Bagmati Rural Municipality along with Birkhedhara of Godavari Rural Municipality.

Landslides at Bhalukhola, Karkibas, Kalche and Bhansekhola and one-way tracks have caused problems in vehicular movement. Supervisor Ghimire says, “Bhalukhola, Karkibas, Kalche landslide near Chhapeli, Takurse and Pandur of Bagmati Rural Municipality-3 are the main obstacles on this road. Due to the one-way track in Bhansey Khola, heavy vehicles are compelled to stand in line for some time.TAG_OPEN_div_54 ”

It takes 25 minutes to half an hour to cross 800 meters at Pangdur of Bagmati Rural Municipality. “At present, 2,500 to 3,000 vehicles ply on this highway every day. As a result, the road that was buried overnight collapses again during the day,” said Ghimire, supervisor of the highway. There is a big problem on the 65-meter road due to the lack of rock cutting in the copper mine of Bagmati Rural Municipality. According to Ghimire, the vehicles have to wait for a long time to cross the short road as the work of cutting the rock is going on.TAG_OPEN_div_52

He says that there is a problem in the operation of big buses due to the narrow and under-construction road. “There is no problem even if trucks and cargo vehicles are jammed for some time, but there is a lot of problem of big night bus collisions. Even if the road is good, it is a one-way road, except in the area where there are regular landslides. Cargo vehicles are facing problems due to night buses,” said supervisor Ghimire.TAG_OPEN_div_50

Supervisor Ghimire feels that the government remembers Kanti Lokpath only when the Kathmandu Valley is in trouble due to the obstruction of the Prithvi Highway. “I have been working as a supervisor in this road project for 11 years. The government remembers this road only in times of emergency or crisis. Lately, a sum of three billion rupees have been received for this road project. According to the plan, 70 percent of the work has been completed, but lately there is a problem in working due to the increase in the number of vehicles,” said supervisor Ghimire.TAG_OPEN_div_48

Twenty-four hour traffic management, business slowdown {{

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According to Superintendent of Police Naresh Raj Subedi, spokesperson of the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, heavy maintenance has been put in place for 24 hours to clear the obstruction on the highway. Spokesperson Subedi said that heavy equipment has been put in place at Bhatte Danda and Tika Bhairav. He said that traffic police have been deployed at Takhel, Taxi Park, Dholahiti, Tika Bhairav Fulbari, Tika Bhairav Bazaar, Tinpane and Bhattedanda with the increase in traffic congestion.TAG_OPEN_div_44

“Before the floods in Bhotekoshi on August 26, around 100 vehicles used to ply on this road every day, but the traffic congestion on this road has increased drastically after the floods. There are statistics that between 1,000 and 1,500 vehicles ply in a day,” said Subedi. Traders say that the business of this road has decreased after the movement of goods vehicles. Pramila Dahal, who runs a hotel business in Chhapeli under the Kanti Highway, said, “Now all the empty vehicles ply on this road. Big vehicles are plying but there is no business. If you stop the vehicle for a while, there is a traffic jam. There is only a driver in one vehicle. What is the business!” She said that when small vehicles with passengers pass through the Kanti Highway, she used to feed 200 people daily, but now only 5-10 people eat food.

Member of the House of Representatives from Lalitpur Constituency No. 1, Buddha Ratna Maharjan, had objected to the government not giving priority to the Kanti Highway a few days ago. He stressed that the state should make such highways efficient and useful not only during the crisis. Speaking during the zero hour of the House of Representatives’ meeting, Maharjan said, “The state does not seem to have given enough priority to this road as a national highway, but when disaster strikes and the main road is blocked, it has to be opened as an alternative road. It is the responsibility of the state not only to remember the crisis, but also to make such roads efficient and safe before the crisis strikes.”TAG_OPEN_div_40 ”

70 years history of Bokeko Highway

The historic Kanti Highway connecting Lalitpur and Makwanpur is a seven-decade-old road connecting Kathmandu Valley. The road was started in 2013 BS and was inaugurated by the then King Mahendra on January 22, 2014. After the opening of the track, the then King Mahendra himself reached Hetauda driving through this road in 2016 BS. After the landslide in the same year, this road section was completely closed for about 40 years.TAG_OPEN_div_36

This road has been remembered as a time of crisis after the DPR design work started in 2056 BS after the Korean government proposed to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) of the Kanti Highway in 2055 BS on grant. This road has come into operation after the reconstruction, expansion and upgradation of the ‘Kanti Highway Project’ in 2066 BS as an alternative highway connecting Kathmandu to Hetauda. After the operation, continuous budget has been allocated for the expansion of the road in different fiscal years due to obstruction due to landslides in various places.

51 km of Kanti Highway falls in Makwanpur and 38 km in Lalitpur district. Although most of the 89 km road has been blacktopped, about four kilometers of the road is unpaved due to landslides and hill erosion. A bailey bridge has been installed after the flood of 2081 BS swept away the bridge over the Bagmati river. In view of its load bearing capacity and safety, only goods vehicles have been allowed to operate on this road.TAG_OPEN_div_32

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