Baglung. The Kalapaira Stream located in Nisikhola Rural Municipality-4 of Baglung district is flooded even when it rains.

The flood has damaged about two meters of the road. The highway, which was blacktopped four years ago, has now become completely dilapidated. The highway, which carries thousands of passengers daily, has been facing problems due to its remoteness. When it’s a big year, vehicles come to a standstill.

Passengers heading to capital Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Butwal from Nisikhola of west Baglung, Rukum in the west, Rolpa, Jajarkot, Salyan, Dolpa and other districts have been facing inconvenience due to lack of vehicular movement. The highway remains closed for a week due to incessant rain. Even in winter, if it rains, the road is closed.

Driver Pritam Thapa Magar said they are stranded for hours due to the closure of the road. He complained that he had to stay on the road many times as the road was not opened on time. According to him, the vehicle got stuck in the mud that came with the floods. Thapa Magar said that the concerned bodies have become indifferent to make the road systematic.

“Earlier, we used to go to Kathmandu from Surkhet via Dang, Butwal and now we have been going to Kathmandu as the highway has shortened the distance from Kathmandu,” he said, adding, “We had to face problems many times due to flooding in Kalapura rivulet. ’

Nishikhola lies in the largest section of the Mid-Hill Highway in Baglung. The stretch from Pakhute to Patihalne is around 38 kilometers. Although the road is easy in other places, the Kalapura rivulet is more risky. Information Officer of the Mid-Hill Highway, Ujjwal Sharma, said that the highway has suffered damages due to lack of proper rural road.

According to him, the highway has been obstructed due to floods including mud during rainfall after the Nisikhola rural municipality constructed a road linking Kanabagar bazaar to Okharani village. Sharma said that rural roads should be managed to prevent flooding in Kalaparakhola. He said that a letter will be sent to the Department of Roads to resolve the problem.

“At present, the floods have damaged the road in the area, there is a rural road above it, that place is also a bit unpaved and if it rains, everything will be washed away. ’

The Kanabagar market has started getting ugly due to mud on the road. Tham Bahadur Gharti Magar, a local of Nishikhola Rural Municipality-5, said that it has been very difficult to transport goods and travel in the absence of a long-term solution to the problem. According to him, although there is an alternative road to the highway, it has not been resumed. According to Gharti, the highway has been closed for many days due to incessant rain for a long time.