MUSTANG: Development and construction activities in the mountainous district of Mustang have come to a complete standstill due to extreme winter cold.
With temperatures plunging during the winter season, infrastructure development and construction projects underway across all five local levels of Mustang have been suspended.
Project Chief Tejashwi Sharma said that road and bridge construction under the national pride Beni–Jomsom–Korala road project, which connects Nepal’s north and south, has been severely affected by the cold.
Construction equipment has frozen due to extremely low temperatures, forcing work to stop. He said that project activities in the Mustang section of the Korala road were suspended before December due to the harsh weather conditions.
According to Sharma, infrastructure construction under the national pride Korala road section in Mustang will resume only after April. He said that work on upgrading the 9.8-kilometre Kagbeni–Chhusang blacktop road, which was contracted in the current fiscal year, has been halted due to the cold. The project had signed a contract worth Rs 288.7 million for blacktopping this road section.
The project has also stated that construction of the 40-metre-long single-span Ghami Khola Bridge, which connects the Korala checkpoint and was contracted in 2075 BS, has been suspended due to cold weather.
Although Himdhung Thokkar & Immortal JV Construction had signed a Rs 68 million contract and initiated the work, construction has been delayed. Physical progress has reached 80 percent, with the foundation completed and slope concreting carried out in September. However, the approach road and finishing work remain pending, and construction has now been postponed due to extreme cold, Sharma said.
Similarly, construction on the 17-kilometre road section from Thasang Rural Municipality-2 Kobang to Gharpajhong-4 Jomsom under the Beni–Jomsom–Korala national pride road has also been halted due to cold weather.
Although asphalt blacktop work on this road began in fiscal year 2073/74 BS, the project has not been completed due to delays by the construction company. Around five kilometres of the road still remain to be blacktopped. The project said construction could have been completed before January if work had progressed as scheduled.
Construction of the Larjung Khola Bridge and Kaiku Khola Bridge in Thasang Rural Municipality under the Korala road has also been affected by the cold, Sharma added.
Extreme cold has also disrupted dozens of development plans being implemented by federal and provincial offices as well as local governments in Mustang. Sub-Engineer Jagadish Joshi of the Infrastructure Development Office said that work on 12 ongoing multi-year projects and 13 new projects added this year has been affected by the cold.
According to Joshi, although cutting work is underway on the road leading to Alabari in Gharpajhong-2 Marpha, most projects have been postponed due to winter conditions. Several older multi-year projects remain stalled for various reasons, while some are under construction but cannot proceed due to the cold.
Of the new projects, three are in the multi-year planning process and others are at the contracting stage. Even projects where contracts have been signed have not been able to move forward due to winter conditions, he said.
Physical infrastructure works under the Drinking Water, Water Resources and Irrigation Sub-Division Office, the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), the Integrated Services Office, all five local governments, and other agencies have also been affected.
More than 50 small and large infrastructure projects are being implemented in each local level, but all have been stalled due to the extreme cold.
Lomanthang Rural Municipality Chairperson Tasinurba Gurung said that development and construction work comes to a halt every winter due to cold weather and the risk of snowfall.
“During winter, residents of this region move to lower areas to escape the cold, and the weather itself makes construction work extremely difficult,” Gurung said. “Development activities usually resume in Baisakh once temperatures rise. The cold directly affects the daily lives of local residents as well.”
Development projects in Gharpajhong, Thasang, Lomanthang and Loghekar Damodarkunda rural municipalities have all been halted due to the cold. Temperatures in Upper Mustang have dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius, while Lower Mustang has recorded temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees.
Most government office employees in both Upper and Lower Mustang have temporarily left the district due to the extreme cold. However, security personnel from all three security agencies remain stationed in their respective posts, continuing to ensure peace and security.
While Upper Mustang has become largely deserted during winter, officials working in remote areas are staying in vacant houses left by local residents who have migrated to warmer regions.
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