The 232 km road which connects Jumla with Surkhet has not been cleared even one week after massive landslides blocked vehicular movements. Landslides have caused disturbances to vehicular movements in over a dozen parts of the road. [break]
The road in Dailekh´s Kitti and Kalikot´s Dahikhola, Pili, Sherighat, Sherawada, Rachuli and Bali has been blocked due to landslides. According to police, six trucks loaded with goods have been trapped between massive landslides.
According to Dev Kumar Tamang, chief of Road Division Office (RDO) of Kalikot, the road will remain blocked until next winter. "We cannot start repair works during monsoon," Tamang told myrepublica.com. "Hence, the work will start only in winter."
The road, which was completed in March of 2007, has remained blocked even for a long time even in the past and for months last year.
The government had spent Rs 40.6 million to remove the debris from the road. Locals say the use of low quality materials in the construction of the road has led to repeated blockades. Six persons have died in separate accidents on this very road.
In the aftermath of the road blockade, overland transportation of food to Jumla has stalled. Local depots of Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) have stopped selling food grain to villagers fearing imminent scarcity of essential goods.
According to Jaya Raj Ojha, Jumla chief of NFC, food will not be sold until Dashain festival. NFC has only 9000 quintals of food grain in its various depots in Jumla, which is apparently not sufficient for protecting all villagers from starvation for a long time.
Adding to the plight of villagers in Jumla, prices of essential food items have skyrocketed. Villagers need to pay Rs 140 for a kg of sugar, which usually costs only Rs 70.
According to Govinda Bahadur Shahi, Jumla chapter president of Federation of Nepal Chambers and Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), retailers are about to run out of essential items. "We can keep our shops open only for the next 20 days," Shahi told myrepublica.com.
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