Kaski. Hundreds of passenger and cargo vehicles enter the western part of the country from Pokhara section of the Mid-Hill Highway every day.

The Mid-Hill Highway, a national pride highway that starts from Panchthar, connects Pokhara-Baglung to Jhulaghat of Baitadi on the western border. The under-construction highway from Harichowk to Yamdi of Pokhara Metropolitan City in the Kaski section is in the final phase of upgrading.

The work on this section is almost complete. Kiran Subedi, engineer at the Mid-Hill Highway Project Office, Parbat, said that 90 per cent of the construction work of this section has been completed.

According to him, after the completion of the construction of this section, passengers will be able to easily travel from Pokhara to the western region via Baglung. “We are ready to serve the public after completing the main work of the Harichowk-Yamdi section. We are in the finishing phase after completing the blacktopping work. ” said Engineer Subedi. According to him, only some work of railing, barrier and road safety is left on the road. According to engineer Subedi, only 10 percent of the work is left to be done on this section.

The contract for this section was signed on July 30, 2022. The contract was signed with Motidan Construction Service Pvt Ltd to complete the project within two years. However, the construction works were hampered due to dillydallying by the construction company and technical problems including shifting of electricity and drinking water pipes in the construction area.

The deadline was extended for the first time on July 28, 2081 BS and for the second time till Chaitra 5, 2081 BS after the work could not be completed on time. Subedi said that the deadline of this section extended for the third time is till mid-April 2083 BS.

“It is certain that the work will be completed before the deadline extended for the third time. There were also delays in the construction of the project by some technicians and construction companies. With the support of all the locals and people’s representatives, the office has now reached the final stage. ” said Subedi.

The locals are excited with the construction of the road. They have been suffering from dust and mud for a long time and are happy with the construction of a wide and beautiful road. Madhav Pokharel, a local of Pokhara, expressed happiness over the removal of problems faced by the locals.

Not only the western region of the country but also the people of the erstwhile four districts of Dhaulagiri and the north-west region of Kaski district have been benefitted with easy road infrastructure with the completion of the Harichowk-Yamdi road section.