Ten years after the construction began, the Dobhan-Nuwakot road—designed as an alternative route to the landslide-prone Siddhababa section of Siddhartha Highway—remains unfinished. Despite being touted as a crucial detour that would ease long traffic jams caused by frequent landslides, especially during the monsoon, the road has yet to be blacktopped.

The road spans the districts of Palpa and Rupandehi. While the 9-km stretch in Rupandehi was blacktopped five years ago, the 8-km Palpa section is still incomplete, despite falling under the federal government's jurisdiction. The Road Division Office in Palpa is responsible for maintenance and upgrade of the road on the Palpa side.

Initial contracts for the road were signed in fiscal year 2015-16, but progress has been slow and marred by budget shortages, contractor delays and administrative neglect. With the start of a tunnel construction project at the Siddhababa section of the Siddhartha Highway, work on the Dobhan-Nuwakot alternative road came to a halt, largely due to budget reallocations and government inattention.

“For five years, there was no budget at all for this road,” said Durga Gautam, spokesperson for the Road Division Office in Palpa. “Only in the last fiscal year of 2024-25, two separate contracts were finally awarded to resume work.”

Under one contract, Bhagawati Construction of Butwal was tasked with building an 80-metre cement-concrete slope, slab culverts and drainage structures at the cost of Rs9.83 million. The contract was signed in December 2024, with a deadline of June this year. However, locals complain that work only began in the last days of the Nepali month of Asar [mid-July] so the work remains unfinished. According to the division office, only around 80 percent work has been completed so far.

Another contract, worth Rs46.2 million, was awarded to Uma–Sadashiva–Jaya Arun JV in April this year, for 1,200 metres of cement-concrete work and gabion wall-supported drainage structures. That contract was supposed to be completed by July, but only 15 percent of the work has been done. The division office says it is now in the process of extending the deadline.

“If work had progressed as planned, the Dobhan-Nuwakot road would have been completed five years ago, and vehicles would be running smoothly by now,” said Govinda Neupane, a resident of Dobhan in Tinau Rural Municipality. “We’ve been hearing promises for ten years, but nothing substantial has happened. It’s been extremely difficult for us.”

The gravel road, which currently extends up to Nuwakot, is riddled with potholes and is often muddy and slippery during the rainy season. Local travelers say small vehicles in particular face serious trouble navigating the rough terrain.

“This is a tourist area. But during the monsoon, getting from Dobhan to Nuwakot is a nightmare. There are big hotels and even a cable car station here, but poor roads are driving visitors away,” said Ratna BK, a local resident.

BK blamed the current situation on years of neglect. “The road from Nuwakot to Belbas in Butwal has already been blacktopped. But the Palpa section has received no attention. If this route was developed, it would benefit at least a dozen hill districts in Lumbini and Gandaki provinces by connecting them to Palpa and Butwal more easily,” he said.

The Dobhan-Nuwakot-Belbas road, which runs for 17 kilometres, was envisioned as a strategic alternative to the treacherous Siddhababa-Dobhan stretch of the Siddhartha Highway which remains at risk of landslides even in the dry season. While a tunnel project is now underway at Siddhababa, the alternative route still holds importance, especially during emergencies.

“Had the road been blacktopped, people wouldn’t be stuck in 15 to 16 hours of traffic on the highway, mainly in the Siddhababa area,” said Neupane. “But the work has been endlessly delayed.”

Even previous work on the road has been rendered useless. “We had completed graveling, retaining walls, drains and culverts years ago. But the road was never blacktopped, and now even the earlier work is falling apart,” said a local and a former people’s representative.

According to Gautam, Rs60 million was initially spent in the fiscal year of 2016-17 on slope stabilisation and laying the foundation layers of the work. Two more contracts of Rs10 million and Rs20 million for graveling and drain construction were signed in 2019-20. In total, over Rs80 million has already been spent.

Last fiscal year, three more contracts worth over Rs70 million were awarded, yet progress remains sluggish. The division has now deployed an excavator to fill potholes along the Dobhan-Nuwakot road.

“Even two-year completion targets couldn’t be met. There are still big potholes, and it’s risky to drive. We’ve seen years of work undone by neglect,” said Karan Thapa, a local motorcycle rider.