Slow Progress on Dhulikhel-Suryavinayak Road Leaves Commuters and Businesses Choking on Dust

Bhaktapur. Nishchal Raj Gautam boards a vehicle almost daily from Jagati, Bhaktapur, to travel to Kathmandu. Although it only takes 10 minutes to reach the highway from where he lives, he struggles every day waiting at the bus stop in Jagati.

“Even when coming early in the morning to catch a ride, sometimes it is difficult to find a vehicle. The vehicles are usually packed, so sometimes one just has to wait. While waiting like this, so much dust flies that if one wears any white or light-colored clothing, it gets completely covered in dust. If one stays for just a little longer, the chance of catching a cold increases,” Gautam told Ratopati.

Although four years have passed since the construction began on the Dhulikhel-Sanga and Sanga-Suryavinayak sections of the Arniko Highway, the work remains slow. Only about 45 percent of the work on these road sections has been completed so far. Although excavations have been done in various places for road widening, the lack of progress has severely affected daily life with a 'cloud of dust' engulfing the area.

The construction work on this road section started in 2079, but the work has slowed down further after the contract was terminated due to failure to complete it on time. Thousands of people commute daily, and residents living along this crucial route connecting to Kathmandu are still severely affected.

“In the past, people used to come here. They used to buy goods, but that trend has stopped completely because the road is entirely dusty. Consumers from Kathmandu used to come here specifically to buy 'Pau' (a local item/snack), but that trend has stopped now. Our entire job now is just to dust off things and sit here. Sometimes the dust makes it difficult to even breathe. Catching a cold has become normal; now I even fear developing asthma,” complained Shyam Shrestha, who runs a 'Pau' business in Sanga, to Ratopati.

Although the Suryavinayak-Dhulikhel road section, which is only about 16 kilometers long in terms of distance, was started to be upgraded by dividing it into two parts, the hardship for locals has not yet ended. Despite the Sanga-Dhulikhel (8.3 km) and Suryavinayak-Sanga (7.5 km) sections being awarded separate contracts for expansion, there is concern that further problems will arise if the work is not completed on time.

The contract agreement for the Suryavinayak-Dhulikhel road project was signed on Poush 24, 2079.

“Now elections are also approaching. During elections, development work usually picks up to please the voters. Candidates push for work to advance to secure votes. So, there is some hope that work will proceed now. It's not that the road will be built overnight, but if the dust stops flying, that alone would be a huge relief,” Shrestha said.

The 7.5 km long Suryavinayak-Sanga road section was contracted for 3.8893 billion rupees for expansion, and the 8.4 km long Sanga-Dhulikhel road section was contracted for 4.0564 billion rupees. Despite governments led by various parties coming and going since the start of the road construction, the condition of this road section has not changed.

Although the initial agreement period for this project was until Poush 23, 2080, the construction period has been extended until the end of Falgun 2083.