Rise in accidents due to dilapidated state of East-West highway in Kailali

Dhangadhi: The Attaria road section from Chisapani of Kailali under the East-West Highway has become dilapidated. The condition of the road has been worsening as the maintenance work of the highway has been stalled for the past five months during which hundreds of potholes have formed in the 80 kilometre stretch of the highway.

The condition of roads in Attaria, Muda, Sukhkhad, Mussoorie, Rajipur and other places is in an even more dilapidated condition. Due to the lifting of the lockdown that started on March 24, the number of vehicles on the highway has increased, however it has become difficult to drive due to numerous potholes on the highway.

The Road Division Office of Mahendranagar, had awarded a contract to Kalika Joshi JV for regular road maintenance for three years but the construction work has not resumed since the first week of last April, said Ganesh Dutta Joshi, director of the construction company, ”It's raining during this period due to which maintenance including blacktop cannot be done, 'he said, adding,' Highway maintenance work will start only from August.

The contract for regular road maintenance which had been awarded was worth Rs 159 million. Although the construction company had to repair the potholes in the road for three years, it has not been able to carry out regular maintenance work. Chief of the Road Division Office of Mahendranagar, Arjun Kumar Bam said that most of the workers required for road maintenance were out of the state and in India, "More than 90 per cent of the road maintenance workers are from India," he said.

Road accidents have also increased in Kailali due to the dilapidated condition of the East-West highway. According to the District Traffic Police Office of Kailali, 22 people have lost their lives in road accidents in the district since April. A total of 69 people were killed in road accidents in Kailali from June to March last year, while another 22 people lost their lives during the lockdown. About 70 percent of the accidents occurred in the districts that are on the East-West Highway.