सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Round Bazaar. The rural markets in Laxmipurpatari Rural Municipality of Siraha, which were once narrow roads and thatched huts on the side of the road, with only small shops inside, have now changed.
After the Road Division Office Lahan Siraha showed readiness in the construction of roads in the rural settlements of Siraha-Saptari-Udayapur, the villages have started joining the mainstream of development. With the change in the appearance of the market, a different kind of enthusiasm has started to be seen among the locals of the area than before.
‘Earlier, the market area had narrow roads and thatched huts, with only small traders inside,’ says Shyam Yadav of Laxmipurpatari Rural Municipality, ‘But now, with the widening of the road, large concrete buildings and big shops have started opening in the market.’
The settlements along the Chaparari-Pokharbhinda-Khurkiyahi road under the Vidyapati Marg in Laxmipur Patari Rural Municipality of Siraha, which was once considered remote, have become accessible areas.
Laxmipur Patari Rural Municipality was considered a remote area until a few years ago, but now that area has changed its old identity. At present, the Laxmipur Patari region has started developing as a tourist area in Madhesh Province.
The main reason for this is the blacktop of the Vidyapati Marg road connected to the East-West Highway. With the blacktop of those north-south rural roads connecting the East-West Highway, smiles are now on the faces of the locals of the Laxmipur Patari region.
With the upgrading of the road from Chhaparari on the East-West Highway to Bahhari on the Indian border, the Road Division Office Lahan Siraha has not only made it easier for locals to travel, but has also freed them from mud and dust.
‘Earlier, it used to take an hour and a half to reach Badhari from Chhaparari Bazaar by motorbike,’ says Santosh Sah, a local from Pokharbhinda village, ‘but now, after the road is blacktopped, it can be reached in barely 15 minutes.’
With the upgrading of dilapidated roads in Siraha, Saptari and Udayapur districts, the rural areas that were considered remote are now becoming accessible.
After the construction of the roads, development has accelerated and thousands of youth have got employment opportunities at the local level. ‘Earlier, when the roads were dilapidated and vehicles were not running, it was difficult to easily transport the vegetables produced in the village to the Lahan market,’ says Shravan Mahato of Laxmipur Patari, ‘But now, with the start of operation of a large number of auto rickshaws, we are able to transport those crops to the market.’ He says that even the farmers are excited about this.
The road, which has been dilapidated for years, has reached its final stage along with the blacktop work. Siddhababa Ambhuja JV Kathmandu, which started the work by signing a contract on 23 Ashad 2079 at a cost of 187.499 crores, is carrying out the road upgrade and blacktop work.
Although the completion date for the road is Asad 2082 BS, 94 percent of the work has been completed so far, according to Sub-Engineer Naresh Kumar Mandal, representative of the construction company.
According to him, a 12-meter-wide road is being upgraded in the village area and a 10-meter-wide road outside the village, and a drain has also been constructed in the village area. Ashutosh Karna, Chief Divisional Engineer of the Division Road Office, Lahan, said that the construction work of the under-construction Vidyapati Marg is in the final stage.
He said that since some variations are required in the interim, the remaining work on the road will be carried out soon. Similarly, the work on the under-construction road from Kadamha Chowk in Surunga Municipality-7, Saptari to Chakdaha, Pramanapur and Ward No. 10 Paterwa Chowk is also progressing rapidly.
The Division Road Office Lahan has stated that about five kilometers of the road, which is a total of eight kilometers and five hundred meters long, have so far reached the stage of blacktopping.
Gauri Parbati K & KG JV signed a contract on 2079 Mangsir 18 to complete the work by 2081 Mangsir 17, but despite some delays due to non-guaranteed funds, the work is currently progressing rapidly, says Engineer Bhupendra Sifailaya, representative of the construction company.
He said that the construction work has progressed to complete the work before the extended deadline. The road being constructed along the Balan River is believed by locals to not only ease traffic but also solve the problem of erosion and flooding caused by the Balan River every year.
‘This road has become very important and a blessing for us’, says Jibach Yadav, a local of Bairban. ‘After the road is constructed, it will be easy to drive and it will also protect us from erosion and flooding caused by the Balan River during the rainy season. This is a great achievement for us.’
The physical progress of this road, which is being constructed at a total cost of Rs 278.16 crore, is 33 percent, according to Bishwa Subedi, a representative of the construction company.
Similarly, the construction work of the Motigadha-Jogidaha section, whose track was opened in 2025 BS to shorten the distance between the old road in Udayapur and the Saptari highway, has also gained momentum. Karna, Chief of the Division Road Office Lahan, says that work is underway to blacktop the approximately 12-kilometer road.
According to Karna, under the Government of Nepal’s Constituency Strategic Road Plan, roads are being constructed in one constituency of the federal parliament at a cost of at least 25 and a maximum of 400 million rupees.
Under that plan, the old road in the district connecting Gaighat, the district headquarters in Udayapur’s constituency number 1, is going to be blacktopped in the Motigadha-Jogidaha section. Construction entrepreneur Manikumar Dahal said that the target of completing the 12-kilometer road from Motigardha-Jogidaha-Rupani to Fattepur in Saptari by the end of the fiscal year 2081/82 has not been met due to the lack of assurance of the required amount, as the contract agreement for the blacktop of the two-lane road has not been completed.
The work to blacktop the road to make it two-lane had begun in the previous fiscal year. According to Sanjeev Sah, engineer at the Division Road Office, Lahan, work is underway to widen the road, construct drainage channels on both sides, and complete the construction of 22 large and small culverts.
The government has provided a budget of only Rs. 25 million for the scheme, which is estimated to cost more than Rs. 250 million in the current fiscal year.
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