Road upgrade work from Bahrakilo to Barpak, the epicentre of the Gorkha earthquake in 2015, began nearly nine years ago. But the 46-kilometre stretch from Bahrakilo in ward 11 of Gorkha Municipality to Barpak in ward 1 of the Barpark-Sulikot Rural Municipality has not yet been completed, leaving the local people in hardship.

“[CPN-UML chief and current prime minister] KP Sharma Oli visited Barpak a few months after the devastating earthquake and assured that the road would be widened and blacktopped by 2018. Villagers were quite hopeful since the project contract had already been signed,” said Jit Bahadur Ghale, a local resident of Barpak.

“The road is in terrible condition. Locals suffer from the dust during the dry season. It is unfortunate that a project that should have been completed years ago is still unfinished,” he said, expressing his frustration over the delay.

The Bahrakilo-Barpak section is a crucial road that connects several rural settlements of Gorkha. Residents of some wards of Gorkha Municipality, all wards of Barpak-Sulikot Rural Municipality, as well as Laprak and Gumda villages of Dharche Rural Municipality rely on this road.

The upgrade of the Bahrakilo-Barpak road began in 2015 by dividing the 46.6-kilometre stretch into four sections. Work on two sections has been completed while blacktopping work on the remaining two sections has stalled due to negligence of the contractors. Asphalting work on an eight kilometres section—from Arkul to Dhodeni—and a 16 kilometres section—from Baluwa to Barpak— which should have been completed by mid-July 2018 remains incomplete.

The 12-km long Masanethanti-Nibel section of the Bahrakilo-Barpak road is part of the Mid-Hill Highway Project. The road section was blacktopped three years ago. Blacktopping work of a total of 10 kilometres of road of the first two sections was also completed.

According to the Gorkha Road Project, overall physical progress on the Bahrakilo-Barpak upgrade stands at around 90 percent.

Lohani and Brothers Construction Company had signed an agreement to upgrade the eight-kilometre Arkul-Dhodeni section on July 16, 2015. The project was supposed to be completed by July 2017, but the project remains far from completion.

“The construction company has not shown up at the project site in the current fiscal year of 2024-25. We wrote to the construction company several times but the contractor has not resumed work,” said Amindra Khadka, head of the Gorkha Road Project. According to him, the physical progress on the eight kilometres road from Arkul to Dhodeni is only 80 percent. “The contractor blacktopped six kilometres of the road, but the surface is already coming off and needs repair” said Khadka.

According to Khadka, the project deadline has been extended seven times. “Preparation is on to terminate the contract if the construction company does not resume work immediately,” he added.

Similarly, work on the 16-kilometre Baluwa-Barpak section remains incomplete. The contract for this section was awarded to Rasuwa/Elite/Surya JV on July 10, 2016, for Rs330 million. The work was supposed to be completed within two years of signing of the contract. But even after eight years, it remains unfinished.

“The project deadline has been extended six times. The latest extension runs until mid-July. Work is currently underway, and we hope the contractor will complete the project by the end of the current fiscal year,” said Khadka. According to him, around 90 percent of the work on the 16-kilometre section has been completed.

Frustrated by prolonged delays, local residents have demanded the immediate completion of the upgrade work along the Bahrakilo-Barpak road. “The government should take strong action against contractors who do not complete projects on time. Locals are suffering due to the negligence of contractors and government’s inaction,” said Ghale.