6 February, Manang. Manang is a geographically difficult Himalayan district. It is even stronger when development work from above is slow. The danger is as much as the repair and maintenance work on the Dumre-Bensishar-Chame backbone road section of Manang is slow.
The danger of traveling on this route is increasing. Due to the fact that there is less time for road construction and repair, road sections are at increased risk of being damaged by floods and landslides. Due to heavy snowfall in previous years, repair and construction work could not be done, but this year, despite no snowfall, repair and construction work could not be done.
Even in the absence of snow or rain, there is no way to say how long the residents of Manang and the tourists coming here will have to bear the risk, as the construction company and the Dumre-Bensishar-Chame road planning office are not able to gather pace. Construction work. Local people say that it cannot be said for how long the residents will have to bear this risk due to the delay in the construction work.
According to the Dumre-Benshihar-Chame Road Planning Office, the budget has been allocated for the construction under the multi-year plan. Even in the absence of snowfall and rain, it is seen that the construction work is not being done and the time will be extended. Office head Achyut Vilas Pant said that even in the absence of snowfall and rain, there has been delay due to cold.
Despite there being no alternate route on the said road section, the maintenance and repair is getting delayed. Due to non-availability of alternate road during road maintenance, there is a problem in transportation of material in Manang. Road maintenance work was going on in high risk areas like Bhulbhule, Niglo Ghari, Bagarchap, Danaqi, Aklobhatti, when there was a problem due to rain. He said that now when the rainy season starts, there will be a problem and now there is a problem for cold construction.
“Though there has been no snowfall or rain this year, there is a problem due to cold. The road should be maintained in a safe manner. We have not been able to carry out maintenance work even in the most vulnerable areas, he added.
Pant said that the contract period for the maintenance of Bensi Sahar-Chame road section is remaining. According to him, the road maintenance period is till the end of next June. Timely repair work is being done for the maintenance of the road in the risk area of the said road section.
He said that at this time it is difficult to work even though the traffic is less. Pant says that there is no alternative way to repair the dangerous roads, so they stop the car.
Nana Consultancy Pvt Ltd has been awarded the contract to carry out the maintenance work in the hazardous area of the road section. Chin Ghale, head of District Coordination Committee Manang, said that if the road is repaired in the risk area of the road section, accidents will reduce. He said that the road office should repair and maintain the road on time to make the road smooth.
The SEZ under the said road section is more vulnerable. At the same time, accidents are also increasing due to lack of timely maintenance and upkeep. In such dangerous areas, the road office should repair it as soon as possible. The road should play a role for the convenience of the people of Manang, said Chief Ghale.
However, as a new project, there is a plan to make Dumre-Bensishar-Chame road section four-laning. The Central Government has allocated a budget of Rs. A multi-year budget has been allocated for the development of the backbone of Manang.
Chief Pant said that the budget has been allocated with a plan to make the Dumre-Bensishar-Chame road section wide, paved and safe with paved drains during the next five years. Last year, most of this road stretch was damaged by floods. Due to problems in opening the flood-damaged roads, only air transport had to be resorted to.