KANCHANPUR: Only five kilometers of the Daiji–Jogbudha road, which connects the inner Madhesh of Kanchanpur with Dadeldhura, have been blacktopped in the past eight years.
A contract agreement was signed with Nargajun Construction on April 21, 2017 for the construction of a 12-kilometer road from Daiji in Bedkot Municipality, Kanchanpur, to Lipna, on the border of Dadeldhura district.
The work was initially scheduled to be completed by July 21, 2019. However, the project remains incomplete even after five deadline extensions.
The most recent deadline, set for July 4, 2025, has also passed without completion, according to the Infrastructure Development Office in Mahendranagar. In the last fiscal year alone, Rs 10 million allocated for the project remained unused and was frozen due to lack of progress.
Laxman Raj Joshi, the office’s information officer, confirmed the delays. “Despite five extensions, only five kilometers of the road have been blacktopped,” he said. “Seven kilometers are still left, and the contractor has already received Rs 183.6 million. They are currently awaiting a remaining payment of Rs 29 million.”
Locals say the incomplete road has made daily life difficult, especially given the road’s strategic importance in connecting the far-western hills to Kanchanpur. “This road project began during the Panchayat era, yet it remains unfinished,” said Keshav Bohara, a local resident. “In winter, it’s unbearably dusty, and during the rainy season, traveling is life-threatening.”
Due to the lack of a proper road, locals are forced to take a 150-kilometer detour, despite this road being only 31 kilometers long. The route also serves as an important alternative to the Bhimdatta Highway, linking the inner Madhesh of Dadeldhura with Kanchanpur.
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