Mahendranagar, March 22: Environmental impact assessment of zero point (Brahmadev area) along the Mahakali corridor has been approved after around a decade.    

The expansion of the corridor road has been started to connect with China border from Kanchanpur through southern Darchula.     

As part of the road expansion that started in 2065 BS, there had been a halt to cut down trees at Brahmadev area for want of EIA approval, said Raj Kishor Singh, an engineer for the Mahakali Corridor Darchula Tinkar Road Project.

"With the approval of EIA of the area, a way to start the bidding process has opened. Now construction work will begin soon after announcing bidding," he said. Of the total 425 kilometres corridor, Brahmadev to Jogbuda measures 11 kilometres.    

The Cabinet meeting on Sunday has also permitted cutting down of trees in the area for the project. Under the road that links Brahmadev in Kanchanpur and Taklakot in neighbouring China, construction work in Baidati and Hikila and Sunsera in Darchula is underway, he said.    

For the current fiscal year, 2020/21, Rs 320 million has been allocated to construct the road from Brahmadev to Tinkar in Darchula.    

The corridor will benefit pilgrims and local people in many ways. "Pilgrims heading to Kailash Mansarovar, a famous religious place in Tibet, will find it easy to travel following the completion of the project. Religious and economic development will also take place in the area," said Junga Bahadur Malla, president of the Kanchanpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry.    

Arrival of tourists from India in particular heading to Kailash Mansarovar through the corridor could be tapped to promote tourism, he said.