National
Pothole woes on Tribhuvan Highway
Tribhuvan Highway, country’s oldest highway, has more than 20,000 potholes on it yet the government has done nothing to repair it. Potholes are a major problem and can be dangerous as they cause numerous accidents along the highway.Pratap Bista
Tribhuvan Highway, country’s oldest highway, has more than 20,000 potholes on it yet the government has done nothing to repair it.
Potholes are a major problem and can be dangerous as they cause numerous accidents along the highway. Various sections of the highway have caved in and some have their blacktops come off.
Out of the 20 bridges along the highway, 18 are in a dilapidated condition. Site engineer Aasutosh Karna said they had demanded budget to repair the bridges two years ago but the concerned authorities paid no attention.
“There’s a higher chance of an accident in a dilapidated road section,” said Purna Lama, a resident of Lamidanda. “The flow of vehicles is increasing day by day but the road has not been upgraded in years.” “We have to be extra careful while travelling through the highway,” said Arun Rayamajhi, a resident of Shikharkot in Thaha Municipality-3.
“It takes more than four hours to reach Hetauda from Shikharkot when it should only take about two and a half hour.”
An official from the Division Road Office said that the highway, constructed 62 years ago by India, has been bearing the pressure of thousands of vehicles for years without having any maintenance work on it. The federal government has not allocated budget to repair the dilapidated highway in the running fiscal year.