Karnali. The karnali highway has been blocked causing problems in selling apples. The Karnali Highway has been blocked for the past three days due to landslide at Gagne Khola of Shubhkalika Rural Municipality-1 in Kalikot. Due to the blockade of the highway, there is a problem in commuting.

Trucks carrying apples from Jumla to Surkhet, Nepalgunj, Kathmandu and other parts of the country are stuck on the highway. Due to this, passengers and apple traders have been suffering for three years. Traders are worried that apples will rot when they are stranded on the way to their destination. Balaram Nepali, a passenger, said that no initiative has been taken to open the highway.

Chief of Jumla Agriculture Development Office, Ram Bhakta Adhikari, said 23 trucks carrying apples were stopped on the way due to the landslide. According to him, 184 metric tonnes of apples worth Rs 130 million are feared to rot. The farmers have been requesting the stakeholders to open the road.

Chief of Jumla Road Division Office, Dipendra Chaudhary, said that the stones falling on the road could not be removed. “A team of Nepal Army is going from Manam to break the stone,” he said. He said that the road opening has been obstructed due to rain.

Kalikot’s Assistant Chief District Officer Janak Sharma informed that a team of Nepal Army and Nepal Police led by Chief District Officer Gokarna Raj Suyal has reached the landslide site.