MYAGDI: The upgrading of the Maldhunga–Beni road, which connects Myagdi and Mustang to the national highway network, has been completed under the national pride Kaligandaki Corridor (Beni–Jomsom–Korala) project linking China and India.
The 13-kilometer stretch from Maldhunga in Kushma Municipality–1 to Beni, the headquarters of Myagdi, has been widened to 11 meters and blacktopped using asphalt technology, upgrading it to a standard two-lane road.
In March 2021, Apex–Khadka–Krishna JV signed a contract worth Rs 528.6 million to blacktop the road section passing through Jaljala Rural Municipality wards 8, 7, 4, and 3.
Project Chief Tejashwi Sharma said blacktopping and slope stabilization work has been completed on all but 960 meters of the road. “Painting and installation of road safety infrastructure are currently underway on the completed sections,” he said. “A total of 760 meters at Waribeni and 100 meters each at Kerabari and the Pharse landslide areas were excluded from the contract.”
According to Sharma, the remaining sections were removed from the contract due to disputes with homeowners over road expansion in Waribeni and persistent landslide risks in Pharse and Kerabari. The project had originally targeted completion in 2023.
The main contractor mobilized to the site last year to complete work left unfinished by the subcontractor Omkareshwor, which had cited the COVID-19 pandemic, floods, and shortages of river-based construction materials as reasons for delays.
Earlier, three kilometers and 300 meters of blacktopping and 2.2 kilometers of slope work had been completed in the Maldhunga–Pharse section. Blacktopping of 6.5 kilometers in the Lasti–Beni section, which began in December last year, is now undergoing technical measurement and evaluation, according to construction company engineer Jiwan Chaudhary.
The road serves residents of Myagdi, Mustang, and Jaljala Rural Municipality of Parbat, as well as tourists and pilgrims traveling to the region.
Transport entrepreneur Buddhi Pun said travel time on the Maldhunga–Beni stretch has been significantly reduced. “Earlier, it used to take about an hour. Now it takes only 15 to 20 minutes,” he said. “For the past five years, we had to use the winding alternative route via Ratnechaur, Baglung, and Ratnagiri when traveling between Pokhara and Beni. That problem has now been resolved.”
Baburam Karki, a resident of Milanchowk in Jaljala Rural Municipality–7, said the blacktopping has ended the hardship of traveling through dust and mud under risky conditions.
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