The obstruction of the Dolakha-Singati road section over the past two weeks has affected around 50,000 people in the northern part of Dolakha, a mountain district of Bagmati Province.

Shortage of essential commodities is looming large in 22 wards of Bigu, Gaurishankar and Kalinchowk rural municipalities with the disruption of the only road connecting the district’s northern villages to Charikot, the district headquarters.

Transportation of food grains and other essential goods came to a halt after a landslide disrupted Dolakha-Singati road near Banchare. As a result the stock of food grains and other goods in far-flung villages is gradually emptying, said Mahesh Shrestha, chairman of Singati Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Singati Bazar is a trade centre in Dolakha’s northern part. The road caved in near Banchare, which lies around 27 kilometres from Charikot.

The road caved in near Banchare in Kalinchowk Rural Municipality-4 after the rain-swollen Jhamarsi stream eroded its embankment on July 27. There is the Sisa-Golai-Dampha alternative road connecting the northern parts of Dolakha with Charikot. The flood swept away this road section at the Ghattekhola area. “The northern settlements of Dolakha are hardest hit as both the road sections were blocked by floods and landslides,” said Shrestha.

Some local traders in the Jhamarsi area have been transporting food grains and other daily essentials by using porters to cross the damaged road. The traders then have to use other vehicles from another side of the damaged road.

Meanwhile, the price of the goods transported by using porters has increased significantly. A Singati-based trader said they pay porters Rs30 for carrying a sack of 30 kg rice and Rs 50 for a cooking gas cylinder. Vehicles on the Singati side also charge more amounts as fare now, resulting in high prices of the goods, the trader told the Post, asking not to be named.

The sick people and pregnant women have been hit the hardest due to disruption of vehicular movement. Transportation of the four-wheelers is not possible through the damaged road in the Banchare area. Only the motorcycles are passing through the damaged road section. The patients have to cross the damaged road section walking and catch another vehicle, if possible, on another side of the damaged road.

Sanjib Oli, chairman of Bigu Rural Municipality, said they attempted to operate an alternative road through the Tallo Tamakoshi route but it was not possible with the high water flow in the river in monsoon season. “The rural municipality has been helping take sick people to the hospital. We have managed ambulances on both sides of the damaged road,” Oli said. “We are taking stock of the availability of food grains and other essentials in Singati. We are at high alert to control black marketing of the essential goods.”

The 72-kilometre-long Dolakha-Singati-Lamabagar is the only road connecting the northern parts of Dolakha with Charikot. The authorities express their commitments to repair the damaged road and resume transportation along the Dolakha-Singati road stretch.

Efforts are on to resume transportation as soon as possible, said Bharat Shrestha, an engineer at the Division Road Office in Charikot. “We already signed a project agreement with a construction company through a fast track bidding process. The company has started its work to resume transportation in the Jhamarsi area. It is expected that the road will come into operation within two weeks,” Shrestha said.

According to him, even the one-way traffic cannot be operated since the floods damaged the road from its foundation. “We have been using all the available resources and mechanisms to repair the road and resume transportation as soon as possible,” he added.

The works of the under-construction Tamakoshi-III Hydropower Project and other development projects have been affected due to transportation disruption along the road section.