By Netra Shahi
Jumla, Feb. 20: After completing the construction, Karnali Highway was opened in 2007 as the major road to Jumla. The 232-km highway connects Jumla with Surkhet.
The highway has helped people and vehicles commuting to and through the Himalayan district of Jumla but the narrow paths along the highway have made it risky.
According to pedestrians and vehicle operators, the highway has several narrow roads where two vehicles coming from opposite sides cannot cross at once.

“Even small vehicles find it difficult to cross paths at once in several sections. The narrow sections have been causing traffic congestion and even accidents,” said Prem Gurung, a bus driver.
“In cases of heavy vehicles like bus and trucks, one even needs to reverse for around half-a-kilometre to find a wide road for crossing,” added Gurung, who has been driving bus along the highway for five years.

Gurung also stressed that there were several risky areas along the highway and a majority of them had narrow roads.
Similarly, a vehicle driver starts arguing over who should reverse when encountered with another automobile from opposite direction in a narrow intersection, said a local.
The road section from Khidki Jyula of Dailekh district to Serigad is said to be the narrowest.

Likewise, the road from Nagma of Kalikot district to the border with Jumla also has several narrow routes.
“Karnali Highway has been a boon for the locals. However, it has not been expanded, widened and upgraded as per the need,” said Raj Bahadur Mahat, coordinator at Civil Society, Jumla.
Concerned officials also argued that there was a need to widen the highway.

“A special budget is needed to widen the overall highway to two lanes. We are widening roads in some places with the available budget for now,” said Er. Santosh Bhandari, information officer at Jumla Road Division Office.

Bhandari informed that the road was being widened in the four-kilometre section from Nagma to Rara alongside Pilikhanda to Serighat.
The delay in widening the Karnali Highway has not only affected the locals bound to commute for several reasons daily but also the tourists. The highway is also the route to Rara Lake and Sinja.