Lamjung. A narrow road made of rocks. Looking up, there is a high rocky guard that looks like touching the sky, and when you look down, it is a rocky cliff. And below, the blue Marsyangdi River, which looks like a fine thread. At that time, dozers and excavators were not used as they are now, but roads made of large rocks with cubes, sandals and sawals. Besisahar-Chame road from Besisahar on the banks of Marsyangdi River to Manang across the himalayas is very risky.

Hundreds of passengers are forced to travel on the same road every day. Narrow roads, there is always a risk to take risks. Hundreds of passengers are forced to cross the dangerous road every day chanting the name of God due to landslides in many places. Dozens of vehicles travel from Lamjung to Manang on this risky road.

It is the only Besisahar-Chame road from Manang to lamjung and from here to Manang. Due to lack of proper road at Dhungaidhunga over Bhiraibhir and Marsyangdi rivers, commuters are forced to take risky journeys on the Besisahar-Chame road.

It is 65 kilometers from Besisahar to Khudi, Bhulbhule, Syange, Jagat, Chamche, Talbazar of Manang, Timang to Chamebazar, the district headquarters of Manang. Commuters say that traveling on this road is risky. Som Bahadur Gurung, a local, said that most of the road sections are risky due to the construction of rocky walls, high cliffs, small turns, lack of grading and narrow.

Jeep driver Somraj Magarati said, “Landslides occur in different places from time to time, the road is deteriorating more than before. Ram Bahadur Tamang, another driver, said, “There is no chance of survival as it will reach Marsyangdi directly if it falls off the road.” During the journey, most of the passengers are afraid of the condition of the roads and cliffs. He said that sometimes stones and landslides fall from the top even while the jeep is moving, even in the rainy season, there is a risk.

According to Nabin Bista, information officer at the Dumre-Besisahar-Chame Road Planning Office, the journey on the Besisahar-Chame road is risky. Due to lack of adequate budget by the government, there is a risk of lack of quality roads. A budget of Rs 360 million was received in the current fiscal year. The government is going to provide an initial budget of Rs 400 million for this road for the next fiscal year.

The people of Manang are worried as landslides have blocked the road almost every day in different places. There is no option but to use helicopters to go from Manang to different places via Besisahar as the landslide has blocked this road for a long time. The Road Division Office, Damauli, Tanahun, had started constructing the road in 2051 BS as per the government’s plan to connect the district to the road network.

For various reasons, the Nepal Army got the responsibility of constructing the road since 2057 BS. The army managed to construct the road by risking their lives on a dangerous cliff like monkey fights, while some people died during the construction of the road. Although the dream of the people of Manang has been fulfilled with the road constructed by the Army in this way, the people of Manang are disappointed that the road has not been upgraded. Not only them, lamjung residents, passengers and tourists are also worried about the lack of upgradation of the road. Everyone wants that the road should be quality and the risk of accidents should be reduced.

The then Nepal Army personnel based in Besisahar had handed over the road to damauli Tanahun after completing the road construction work in 2069 BS. The road was constructed and handed over under the leadership of Engineer Bharat Shrestha and Indriwar Gurung. It takes about six hours to cross the Besisahar-Chame road. Commuters are in a state of shock due to frequent landslides and road blockades along the road.