By Nayak Paudel
Morang, Oct. 31: Biratnagar, the capital of State 1, is one of the important destinations for the people as the ancient city has better health institutions, a domestic airport and different high-level government offices.
Many individuals commute to and from Biratnagar for different reasons and the major route to the city passes through Itahari.
However, around 20-km journey from Itahari to Biratnagar has been annoying the commuters with dusts and several potholes.
“Biratnagar is a place we need to visit frequently, but whenever I have to go there, the feeling of the dusty road annoys me,” said Anish Shrestha, a local businessman of Urlabari Municipality and a frequent commuter to Biratnagar.
According to Shrestha, who rides a motorcycle, the heat in the area due to the glowing sun makes the trip through the dusty road even worse.
The Itahari-Biratnagar road section has been one of the busiest in the entire State. The road is being extended to six-lanes to accommodate the increasing number of vehicles. While the construction is almost done within Biratnagar, it is far from completion in other areas.
Potholes are ubiquitous along the gravel road from Itahari to Biratnagar, and blacktopping is seen only in a few places.
“Only a few stretches are blacktopped but they too have potholes; and those potholes are not small. As potholes in front of big vehicles are hard to detect, they come with surprise, and that’s dangerous,” said Sager Bhattarai, a young businessman from Pathari Shanishchare Municipality who often needs to visit Biratnagar.
The ongoing construction has not only affected the commuters but also the locals living by the road. The shopkeepers along the roadside and pedestrians have to go through many problems because of dust emanated from the road.
“Dust emanates from everywhere and every time because vehicles ply on this route nonstop throughout the day. Even if it wasn’t for COVID-19 pandemic, people here cannot stand a few minutes without wearing masks. We, pedestrians are particularly suffering a lot,” said Sarita Chapagain, a bank employee in Itahari, who walks to her office from home.
Concerned authorities are aware of this problem as well. Having no choice other than to wait until the construction completes, they urge everyone to have patience.
“The road is being constructed from the budget of the State government, so we are keeping an eye on the ongoing construction. We also want the construction to be completed at the earliest so that the public won’t have to suffer from the dusts,” said Dwarika Lal Chaudhary, mayor of Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City.
When asked, the officials at the Physical Infrastructure Development Ministry of State 1 had no answers to when the road construction would complete.
The six-lane road is meant to provide a quality route to Biratnagar, but the undue delay in its completion has increasingly worried the public. Given that the poor conditions of the road seems to continue for some more time, concerned authorities have requested the public to drive and walk safely.
“The condition of the under-construction road is poor, so we have no other option than to ride vehicles safely. The drivers should slow down whenever they come across the dangerous portion in order to mitigate the risks,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police and spokesperson at State 1 Police Office Biratnagar Kabindra Kumar Karki.