Gandaki. Three roads are under construction in Pokhara Metropolitan City of Kaski under the Nepal Urban Governance Infrastructure Project. Works are being carried out to upgrade the Talchowk-Begnas road, Shishuwa-Sisaghat road and Dobilla-Baghmara-Lameahal-Punditar road with the financial assistance of the World Bank.
Pokhara Metropolitan City (KMC) and the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction signed a project agreement in March 2021. According to him, the contract for the project has been extended by one year from five years.
Of the three roads, the physical progress of the Shishuwa-Sisaghat road has reached 65, while the progress of the other two roads is low. According to Engineer Gautam, the physical progress of the four-lane road connecting Pokhara-27 Talchowk to 31 Begnas has reached 55 percent and the Dobilla-Baghmara-Lameahal-Punditar road has reached 40 percent.
According to him, the construction of Talchowk-Begnas road, which started from March 2079 BS, could not be completed on time due to the delay of the company. “The construction company has not been able to speed up the work as promised,” he said. The construction of the road has also been delayed due to a land dispute.
Swachchhanda-Sapana-Worldwide JB had been entrusted with the task of upgrading the 3.28-km Talchowk-Begnas road to four lanes. The construction of the road had finally started a year after the contract was signed. According to Engineer Gautam, the contract agreement was signed with the construction company at a cost of Rs 754.8 million including VAT. According to him, the road will be constructed with foot track, cycle lane, street lights and parking.
Attractive infrastructures including gardens, passenger waiting rooms will be constructed along the road. Three bridges will also be built on the road. Engineer Gautam said that the road expansion, culvert, drain and wall construction works are currently underway. Lamjung is connected to The Prithvi Highway via Begnas, Rupa Rural Municipality.
The upgradation of Talchowk-Begnas road has been taken forward as a pride project of the metropolis. Pokhara-27 ward chair Purna Kumar Gurung said the development of the entire Lekhnath area, known as batika of seven lakes, would be reversed if the four-lane road was constructed.
According to him, economic and tourism activities will increase further as the Talchowk-Begnas road is also connected to the Prithvi Highway. The Pokhara-Muglin road under the Prithvi Highway is also being upgraded to four lanes. The road connecting Pokhara to Shishuwa to Sisaghat in Lamjung is currently under construction. According to Engineer Gautam, the 4.14-km-long road will also have bicycle treks, footpaths and street lights.
Four culverts are also under construction in the section. Ashish Construction Service was entrusted with the construction of the road at a cost of Rs 341.1 million. The physical progress of the road has reached 65 percent since the construction started on April 14, 2024. The physical progress of the Dobilla-Baghmara-Lameahal-Punditar road, which is considered as an alternative road to Pokhara, the capital of Gandaki State, has reached only 40 percent.
The work on the 12.44-km-long road was started in June last year. Ashish Construction Service was awarded the contract for Rs 776.8 million. According to the Metropolitan City, the contract has been extended for one year as the work was not completed during the contract period. Engineer Gautam said that there will be bicycle treks, footpaths and street lights on this road. Ward Chair of Pokhara-33, Ram Chandra Adhikari, said that fruit saplings have been planted three meters on the right side of the road.
“It is necessary to develop this road as an alternative route to Enter Pokhara via Baghmara via Kotre of Tanahun,” he said. Ward Chair Adhikari said that the area, which was the then Bharatpokhari Village Development Committee, was merged with Pokhara Metropolitan City, but it could not be developed as expected. According to him, initiatives are being taken with the leadership of the metropolis to give priority to the rural and backward wards in the development of the metropolis in the budget and programs.
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