Myagdi. MYAGDI: Blacktopping has begun at Takam of Dhaulagiri rural municipality-7 under the Darwang-Muna-Dhorpatan road project.

Blacktop is being carried out at Takam for the first time in Dhaulagiri rural municipality under the project of upgrading the Dharapani-Takam-Shivang-Jhindanda section. Chief of Infrastructure Development Office, Myagdi, Senior Divisional Engineer Mahendra Baniya said that the installation of ‘prime code’ (bitumen) in the single-lane has started since Wednesday for blacktopping the premix technology.

“After the prime code placed on the gravel dries, we will lay the bitumen in the next phase and in the third phase, we will roast chips with bitumenum and lay it on the road,” he said. This is a road project of strategic importance and priority of Myagdi. According to the Infrastructure Development Office, 900 meters of the road will be blacktopped in two lanes through this plan.

The Beni-Darwang-Dharapani-Takam-Muna-Jaljala-Dhorpatan road section, which is considered an alternative to the Baglung section of the Mid-Hill Highway, has achieved 84 per cent physical progress so far, said Baniya.

Ram Sagar BKS KBS Dhaulagiri JV had signed a contract with Infrastructure Development Office Myagdi for Rs 146.1 million on June 4, 2081 BS with the target to complete the project in two years. The contractor has constructed the structure, laid the base and sub-base. There is a slope in difficult places including Gauthali Cliff. The road will be widened to eight metres, drainage and walls have been constructed. The road reached Dharapani in 2066 BS. This road is the main road used by the residents of five wards of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality.

Ashok Khatri, ward chairman of Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality-7, said that the locals of Takam are elated with the construction of blacktopping. According to the construction company, the road will be completed within the current fiscal year. Earlier, the road was four to five meters wide.

Another project has been signed for the blacktopping and slope of Darwang-Dharapani (7 km) and Machhim-Muna (4 km) for the blacktopping and casting of oxphalt technology, said Resham Jugjali, a member of the Gandaki Province Assembly from Myagdi 1(B).

The contract period of the project, which was signed in June last year, is 27 months. Jugjali said that it is considered of strategic importance for the locals of Mangala Malika of Myagdi, Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality, Dhorpatan of Baglung and East Rukum as it is 50 kilometers short to travel to Pokhara-Kathmandu.

Dhaulagiri’s centre Muna via Khoriya, Mareni and Jaljala of Dhorpatan was connected by road to Taksera of East Rukum last March. The road from Dhorpatan to Jaljala has already been constructed.