Chitwan. Under the Nagdhunga-Muglin road project, the Muglin-Malekhu road section of the western section has been upgraded and repaired targeting the Festival of Chard. Since the number of people travelling through this road is more during Dussehra, the work of filling and leveling the potholes has been started except for blacktopping.

Kedar Prasad Nepal, chief of the western section, said that the work has been started to fill small and big potholes on the road except blacktopping before Dashain. He said, “We have focused on repairs with the aim of reducing accidents along with the convenience of the passengers as the number of passengers traveling during Dussehra and Tihar is high.” ’

Chief Nepal informed that the work of levelling the road is also going on in the areas where there are big potholes. According to him, out of 38 kilometers of the section, eight kilometers have been blacktopped. “Preparations are being made to blacktop some other parts. Apart from this, the repair work has been started in the pit areas,” he said.

Stating that the work of placing ‘steel’ and ‘RCC safety barrier’ along the road is underway as blacktopping cannot be done during the rainy season, he said that the drain has been constructed along with this. According to Nepal, the work of four out of the six bridges in the section has been taken to the final stage. According to him, work on the access road is underway after completing the slope of Mauwa Khola, Khatauti and Gaumati bridges.

The Warbang bridge will be sloped within a week. All the four bridges will be completed within two months. “Two of the three foundations have been completed in the remaining Charaundi bridge and one of the three foundations of Hugdi has been completed,” he said. The two bridges are expected to be completed before the onset of monsoon next year.

According to project engineer Bijay Darai, 35 percent of the road upgradation has been completed so far. “This section will have 2.2 km six-lane section, which falls in Malekhu, Benighat and Muglin sections. The 7.2 km road will be of four-lane roads,” he said.

Stating that four lanes are located in The Fun Hill, Kurintar, Fisling, Chumling, Majhimtar, Charaudi and Bishaltar areas, Darai said a three-lane climbing route would be constructed in the ups and down sections. According to him, the climbing route will be 2.3 km long while the rest will be two-lane.

The contract for the road was awarded on January 15, 2019 to be completed within three years. Bids have been invited for the Muglin-Nagdhunga section of the Prithvi Highway in three phases. This falls under the third stage. According to project chief Nepal, 38.86 kilometers of roads will be included in this project.

Sharma-ZICG has taken the contract to upgrade this section at a cost of Rs 4.80 billion. Engineer Darai said that construction of drains in different areas of the road, construction of structures for landslide prevention, cutting of walls, construction of walls and road safety should be carried out.

According to him, this road is being constructed with the help of the World Bank. This section is the main entry and exit point of Kathmandu. According to the construction company, the work has been delayed due to high traffic pressure on the road and difficulty in getting raw materials. He also said that the work was delayed due to design changes in the initial years.