By Karuna Thapa
Kathmandu, March 2
A feasibility study for the construction of a tunnel in the Myagdi portion of the Beni-Jomsom
route has been ordered by the National Planning Commission.
Biswanath Poudel, the commission’s vice-chairman in charge of the Beni-Jomsom-Korla Road project, has ordered that the tunnel in the Myagdi section and the blacktop in the upper Mustang be studied.
The team was instructed to blacktop the tunnel and the road constructed in the upper Mustang at two points of the Myagdi section with landslides, unstable geography, and rocky hills, according to Jagat Prajapati, the project’s chief.
He requested that tunnels be investigated as an alternative to the road in the Bhirkate and
Rupse sections, which have poor geography and rocky slopes that cannot be enlarged.
Poudel believes that tunnels should be built in high-risk places to make the route more
sustainable and safer. Poudel believes that religious tourism, as well as traditional and ancient monasteries, should be developed in Korla Naka. He also believes that the road connecting Mustang and Dolpa should be prioritized.
The project has already completed a preliminary investigation of the 350-meter tunnel in
Bhirkate, according to Chief Prajapati. The short-distance Kaligandaki Corridor Road connecting China and India is a natio nal pride project in Nepal. Since 2074 BS (2017), there has been anissue with river erosion and flooding along the Myagdi stretch of the Beni-Jomsom route.
Six of the 13 middle Jomsom-Korla portions of the 186-kilometer Beni-Jomsom-Korla route
have been renovated.
