The proposed route passes through Makalu Barun National Park and it costs too much to build. Besides, China has no plans to build a road on its side of the border leading to the interior. The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport will carry out a study to decide whether or not to go ahead with the scheme.
As per the government’s plan, a 96-km road will be constructed from the district headquarters Taplejung to Olanchungola village development committee which will become part of Mechi Highway. "We will continue the road 50 km north of Taplejung to provide transport services to villages there,” said Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Physical Infrastructure Ministry.
“As for extending it to the Chinese border across the national park, we will do a study first and then decide what to do. Track opening of a 41-km section outside the national park has been completed. Sitaula said that they would construct another 10 km section before deciding whether to develop it as a north-south road.
This road is one of the eight north-south links proposed by the government to promote cross-border. The Department of Roads (DoR), the implementing agency of the North-South Corridor Project, said that more than 50 percent of the Taplejung-Olanchungola road alignment passes through the Makalu Barun National Park.
A detailed project report (DPR) conducted by the DoR last year said that a blacktopped road from Taplejung to Olanchungola would cost Rs 6.4 billion. A senior department official said that the detailed project report had also raised concerns about environmental damage.
According to Gopal Prasad Sigdel, chief of the North-South Corridor Project, the government has allocated Rs 30 million in this year’s budget for this road section which is being spent on upgrading the track to feeder road standard. Sigdel said that a road connecting Taplejung with Dharan through Mulghat in Dhankuta district was also being built.
Another proposed north-south road passes through Dharan in eastern Nepal. It is 340 km long and the route connects Rani, Itahari, Hile, Sankhuwasabha and Kimathanka. As per DoR officials, this road plan is more feasible as there is a road and other infrastructure on the Chinese side of the border.Regarding the Sankhuwa-sabha-Kimathanka road , 60 km out of its 135 km length remains to be completed.
http://www.ekantipur.com/2013/12/24/business/proposed-road-from-kechana-to-olanchungola-in-doubt/382826.html
No comments:
Post a Comment