After 17 long years of wait, Dal Bahadur Budha, a local of Galampati, can finally see his dream come true. His remote village in Musikot Municipality has been connected to the road network.

“Galampati saw no development in more than a decade mainly because it lacked access to a road network,” Budha said.

The 35-km Shitalpokhari-Jhulkhet-Chunbang road was the first rural road project in the district initiated by the then-District Development Committee. But constant delays in the project’s work had hindered the completion of the project, until now.

Like Budha, many villagers are hoping that the road network will change their lives for the better. With easy access to nearby markets, villagers hope for development works in their settlements to take off.

“The road construction process started 17 years ago and we were expecting it to complete within the deadline, but it did not,” said Damodar Budha, a local.

The construction work did not gain momentum, even when the project received the required budget every year.

“The project had the required budget; I don’t know why it took so long for it to take off. Nonetheless, we are happy now that it’s finally complete,” said Budha.

A year and a half ago, Musikot Municipality handed over the project’s responsibility to the Rural Road Network Reform Project.

“About 11km of the road track was opened before the project was handed over to the network. Our task was to extend the road up to Galampati,” said Shankar Khatri, acting chief of the project. “Out of 35km of the road track, 18.5km is going to be blacktopped.”

The two-lane road is being constructed at the cost of Rs 489.4 million. Dhan Bahadur Khadka, a ward member of Musikot Municipality Ward No. 10, said his office has been putting pressure on the contractor company to complete the road construction on time.

“Around 18.5km of the road, which falls under Musikot Municipality Ward No. 4, 7, 9, and 10, should be blacktopped within five years,” said Khadka.

Earlier, locals had to make their journey to nearby villages and market places through steep slopes on foot. Sakuntala Pun, a local of Galampati, recalls the times when she had to walk for miles carrying sacks of grains on her back.

“We would have a good yield in our fields, but we couldn’t monetise them for lack of transport. Now with the road connectivity, we can easily take our produce to nearby markets,” she said.