Malika’s Darbang-Phulbari road section upgraded after 18 years

MYAGDI: The Darbang-Phulbari section of the road connecting Darbang, the centre of Malika Rural Municipality, to Tamankhola Rural Municipality of Baglung via Phulbari, Chyuribot and Sisneri has been upgraded 18 years after it was opened.

The road upgrade project initiated by Malika Rural Municipality in the current fiscal year 2082/83 has been completed ahead of schedule. The road, which was opened in 2066 BS, had been operating through minor maintenance works since its construction.

Mangala Construction Babiyachaur, which signed the contract for the project, completed the work before the deadline. The rural municipality had allocated Rs 10 million under the state supplementary programme, while the contract was awarded for Rs 6.523 million.

The project had a completion deadline of Asar 15 but was completed 15 days ahead of schedule, said Chakralal Pandey, a representative of the construction company. He said the company completed the work on time despite rising costs of fuel and construction materials.

The road, which previously had a width of 3.5 to 4 metres, has now been widened to at least six metres. According to Deepak Sapkota, chief of the rural municipality’s Infrastructure Development Division, additional works included drainage construction, road grading, curb adjustment, gabion walls, walls and construction of a causeway along a 500-metre section.

“Under the project, 11,000 cubic metres of wall cutting, 445 cubic metres of gabion mesh walls, 254 cubic metres of drainage, 250 cubic metres of slope protection and 27 cubic metres of walls were completed,” Sapkota said. “The work is currently under measurement and evaluation by the technical team.”

The Thapachaur-Devisthan section of the road was upgraded last year. The road serves residents of Malika Rural Municipality wards 4, 2 and 3, as well as people from Tamankhola Rural Municipality of Baglung.

Malika Rural Municipality spokesperson Anup Gauchan said the road upgrade was one of the priority projects of the rural municipality for the current fiscal year.