People living in the southern part of Nawalparasi West are facing major difficulties due to the poor condition of the Postal Highway, the lifeline of the southern plains. The road upgrade work has been left incomplete for a long time, making the highway section risky and causing daily problems with mud and dust.

The Kathahawa-Belatari, Narayanchowk-Parasi and Narayanchowk-Tribeni sections of the highway are in a sorry state as the road upgrade work remains stalled for years. On the one hand the road sections are accident-prone while the locals are affected due to dust and mud on the other hand. The road is dusty on fine weather days while it turns muddy in the rain.

“The road turns into a quagmire when it rains, and when it is sunny the road becomes so dusty that it is impossible to walk without face masks. We repeatedly asked the contractors and other authorities concerned to complete the road upgrade work, but nothing has changed. Local residents even blocked the road to draw the attention of the authorities, but the problem remains unresolved,” complained Mankumari Chaudhary of ward 6 of Pratappur Rural Municipality. She criticised the government authorities for their failure to take action against the contractors who did not complete the road project on time.

Chaudhary’s house is on the roadside of the under construction Postal Highway. “Local residents often fall ill due to the persistent dust. Despite our numerous requests, the authorities have completely ignored our hardships,” said Chaudhary.

There are numerous roadside pits that were dug many years ago during the construction of the highway. Such pits have yet to be filled. Construction materials are scattered here and there. “Travelling along the postal highway is risky and quite painful,” complained Anoj Yadav, another local.

The road upgrade work has been dragging in all three sections of the highway due to the sheer negligence of the construction companies. Bajraguru Mahalaxmi JV was awarded a contract to upgrade the nine-kilometre long Kathahawa-Belatari section in Pratappur. With just two and a half months left before the second extended deadline expires at the end of 2024, more than half of the work remains unfinished. In fact, only about 45 percent of work has been completed over the past six years.

Similarly, only around 30 percent work has been completed along the 15-km Narayanchowk-Tribeni section. The road section, which runs through Bardaghat Municipality, Pratappur Rural Municipality and Susta Rural Municipality, is the major road to Tribeni, a pilgrimage site in Nawalparasi. The road work should have been completed two years ago, but it is nowhere near completion.

The condition of the 12-km Narayanchowk-Parasi section is no different. Construction work began some eight years ago, and although the project deadline was extended thrice, only around 90 percent of the work has been completed so far.

The Kapilvastu office of the Postal Highway Project admits delays in the road upgrade work in all the three stretches. “We have repeatedly warned the contractors, both verbally and in writing, to complete the road work on time. The office is coordinating with them to ensure timely progress,” said Yuvaraj Pandey, an engineer at the office. “Local residents have demanded strong action against the contractors if they do not complete work on time. We will certainly take action if the contractors fail to complete the work within the extended deadline,” said Pandey.

Under pressure from the locals, elected representatives of Pratappur Rural Municipality have taken drastic measures to create pressure for a timely completion of the road project. They wrote to the federal government and staged a sit-in in front of the District Administration Office. The people’s representatives resorted to relay hunger strike from September 10 to 12. As the authorities made no commitment, Umesh Chandra Yadav, chairman of Pratappur Rural Municipality, started a fast-unto-death strike from September 13.

Following the protest, officials from the Postal Highway Project, contractors and Physical Infrastructure Development Minister Bhumishwar Dhakal of Lumbini Province reached the hunger strike venue. Yadav ended his fast-unto-death strike after they committed to expediting the road work from September 17.

“It is unfortunate that the road sections have been left incomplete in such densely populated areas. The local unit cannot allocate budget to complete a federal project. We will take legal action if the road work does not progress as per the latest agreement,” said Yadav.