Delay in progress of Muglin-Pokhara highway dismays tourism professionals

KATHMANDU, August 14: The Pokhara Tourism Council has drawn the attention of stakeholders following the delay in the work progress of the Muglin-Pokhara highway improvement project, which is being expanded under the financial support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

According to the council, although the work of making the section under the Prithvi Highway, which connects the two biggest cities of Nepal, Kathmandu, and Pokhara, to at least four lanes is very important and appreciable, businesses in the region have been affected due to the delay in the work progress.

Chairman Pom Narayan Shrestha shared that while undergoing road expansion work is a positive aspect, the service users are facing many difficulties and hassles due to the slow and unorganized expansion work from the construction side.

“Traveling on the highways under such conditions has created more risk and problems for disabled passengers. Not only this, the slow progress of the work has created a situation where the residents around the road have to deal with air pollution and noise pollution for a long time, which is a health hazard,” he said

A statement issued by the council mentions that tourism, industrial and commercial sectors, which are considered important bases of the Nepali economy, have been directly affected by the slow and unorganized construction work. Tourists who want to travel to Pokhara via Kathmandu or Narayangadh have to spend a whole day on the road. The 5 to 6-hour-long bus journey between Kathmandu and Pokhara now takes up to 12 hours. "This has had a negative impact on tourism in and around Pokhara. The private sector has to spend a long time transporting saleable goods, other products, and raw materials. After the earthquake and the blockade, this obstruction of the access route has become another curse for the tourism and industrial and commercial sectors following the COvid-19 pandemic,” the statement reads. 

Shrestha further shared that this has affected the tourism of Pokhara, where billions of rupees have been invested and was just about to be formally announced as the tourist capital of Nepal. “It is a disappointing and sad aspect that only a very small percentage of progress has been made since the road expansion work started,” he said. 

Shrestha said that the council has already drawn the attention of the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Tourism, Chief Minister, and Ministers of Gandaki Province in the past.

He said that the main demand and interest is to speed up the expansion and upgrading of the Muglin-Pokhara highway section and complete the work on time. The council suggests that by changing the style of road expansion and working on one side of the road and creating an environment for easy movement of vehicles from the other side, a comfortable environment will be created for the service users.

"We realized during the observation that it is necessary to carry out the work at an equal speed at night and day by working in different shifts, it would be even better if we could arrange alternative routes and diversions wherever possible to make the journey easier and faster," Shrestha added.