Vehicles getting stuck in mud frequent phenomenon in Bajura

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By Sher Bahadur Sarki,Bajura, May 29: As the rain has started pouring with monsoon at the doorsteps and the roads turning wet, vehicles commuting along the Sanfe-Martadi Highway in Bajura district have started getting stuck in mud.  According to local passengers, they have started staying ready to get off a vehicle, get in line, grab a rope and pull the vehicle out whenever the situation demands.

Locals informed that the vehicles get bogged along the Amkot, Balde and Dwari sections of the highway as soon as it rains because of the poor gravel roads.

Buses and trucks travelling to Martadi, the district headquarters of Bajura, from Mahendranagar, Dhangadhi, Attariya and Kathmandu, and back often get stuck in the muddy roads.

However, whenever a vehicle gets stuck, individuals commuting in the vehicle alongside passers-by help the vehicle get unstuck.

“Monsoon has not started yet. However, the roads are already muddy. Vehicles have already started getting stuck,” said Nari Karki, a resident of Ward No. 4 of Badimalika Municipality in Bajura.

“Vehicles getting bogged is not a major problem. A stuck vehicle can be pulled out.  However, the main challenge is the slippery and unpaved and bumpy gravel road.  

It is always a risk to drive along this highway during monsoon,” said Chatak Khadka, driver of a public bus (Sudurpashchim State-02-001 Kha 1198) operating along the highway.

Khadka informed that the road was concretised a year ago following which they operated along the highway easily during the period. “But now, the concretised section has been damaged and the highway has turned back to normal,” he added.

Vehicle drivers also argued that the section was risky throughout the monsoon due to monsoon-induced disasters like floods and landslides.

“Since the highway is always obstructed and affected during monsoon, we have prepared an alternative route for vehicles along the Balde-Amkot section,” said Pushkar Khadka, Chief District Officer (CDO) of Bajura.

“However, the alternate route is only for vehicles except trucks and long-route buses,” CDO Khadka added.

CDO Khadka informed that the authorities were requesting higher authorities to repair and upgrade the highway to ease commuting for the public.

“A technical team had taken some soil samples along the highway to Kathmandu. 

However, the report has not arrived yet,” informed the officials at the Achham-based Road Division Office. “Balde-Amkot section is the riskiest section of the highway. 

The downward part is eroded by the river and the above part is damaged by landslides,” said Gokul Giri, a supervisor at the road office.

As the lack of road due to obstruction in monsoon had been a regular problem for the district locals, the alternate route is expected to provide a path to transport goods to the district even in monsoon.

“We expect that the supply of goods to Martadi will not be obstructed this monsoon with the opening of the alternate route. Further plans to upgrade the highway are also underway,” CDO Khadka said.

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