HUMLA: The rock fall onto the Karnali Corridor at Rip of Sarkegad Rural Municipality-2 has obstructed the roadway, posing sheer difficulty in transportation.
It is too difficult for the workers to remove the obstruction because there are boulders in the two rockslides occurred at 100-metre stretch of the roadway. Heavy equipment is required to break huge stones and remove from the roadway.
The Karnali Corridor runs from Jamunaha of Banke district near India-Nepal border to Hilsa of Humla district near the China-Nepal border.
Chief of Hilsa-Simkot road project, Bel Bahadur Nepali, informed that even a normal excavator could not remove the rocks. “Only excavator is not enough to clear the obstruction. So, efforts are on to blast rocks with drill machines” he added.
Although preparation is on to blast the rocks, weather and technical feasibility should allow for it. Otherwise, it would take nearly a week to open the route. Adequate budgeting is necessary for it, he added.
A local Kamal Budha informed that the people using the roadway are bound to opt for risky alternative to cross the obstructed section. They are even clinging to cliff by fixing ropes, he added.
A teacher at Gyanodaya Secondary School, Rimi Lal Budha, said he reached district headquarters Simkot negotiating a tough terrain after the road blockage. “Although various bodies including the District Administration Office were requested for help to clear obstruction on time, it was in vain. We’ve reached Simkot taking a risky measure- fixing ropes and ladder in the cliff and crossing the blocked stretch,” he explained.
The road blockage has badly affected the people heading to Kailash Mansarovar via Simkot from Nepalgunj and Surkhet.
