Over 9 crore rupees spent on Byas horse-drawn carriageway in Darchula over nine years

Darchula: A total of Rs 93,056,372 has been spent by local, provincial, and federal governments over the past nine years on the construction of the horse-drawn carriageway in Byas Rural Municipality, Darchula.

The project, spanning approximately 29 kilometers, connects the Darchula district headquarters, Khalanga, to the Nepalese village of Chhangru near the Indian border and the village of Tinkar near Taklakot in China. Deepak Khati, the former administrative assistant of Byas Rural Municipality, confirmed that the funds have been allocated in various fiscal years for different sections of the road.

In fiscal year 2074/75, Rs 2.5 million was spent by Byas Rural Municipality, while Rs 2 million was provided in fiscal year 2068/69 through the Apinampa Conservation Area Office under an all-party sharing arrangement. Despite the substantial investment, the road remains largely walkable.

In fiscal year 2077/78, the Nepali Army constructed a 550-meter stretch in the Maurabhir area of Ghantibagad-Tambaku through an Rs 18.32 million budget from the Sudurpaschim Province government, and then-Chief Minister Trilochan Bhatta inaugurated the road. The Sudurpaschim Province government had previously allocated Rs 3 million in fiscal year 2076/77 for further construction.

During the same fiscal year, the federal government signed a contract worth Rs 33,271,770 for the 29-kilometer Dumling-Gaga section in Chhangru. The project included 49 cubic meters of machinery walls, 236 cubic meters of stone walls, 554 cubic meters of gabions, wire mesh construction, and 4,500 cubic meters of soil excavation.

In fiscal year 2079/80, Byas Rural Municipality received a Rs 60 million special grant from the Government of Nepal under a multi-year road construction plan. Of this, Rs 24.856 million was spent on constructing three wooden bridges at Kaljukhola (Ward No. 2), Apikhola (Ward No. 1), and Rakang (Tinkerkhola), while Rs 18.724 million was used for the Byas Ghoreto road.

Recently, the federal government allocated Rs 50 million in fiscal year 2081/82, with an additional Rs 50 million provided by Byas Rural Municipality in fiscal year 2082/83 for continued construction.