"I whole-heartedly support the government's road expansion drive. But the snail pace development is unacceptable," said Durga, a local of Gaushala who has to frequently tread along the Old Baneshwar - Sinamangal road stretch for buying vegetables and other purposes. Like her, many students, commuters, and passerby have to go through great ordeal because of the poor road condition.The Old Baneshwar-Sinamangal road construction falls under the Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project (KVRIP) of the Department of Roads (DoR), which includes roads of Sinamangal, Old Baneshor, Maitidevi, Dilli Bazzar, and Baag Bazzar, among others.
Construction of the Old Baneshor road had resumed two weeks ago following severe protest from locals. They had vented their anger on tardy road construction by planting paddy saplings on the muddy street to draw attention of the concerned authorities through mockery. The contractor had then agreed to finish gravelling and blacktopping the road at the earliest. Excavators and labors could still be seen working on the road section.
The condition of the Old Baneshwar - Maitidevi road stretch is also same. Bidya Man Bajracharya, a local of Sinamangal, said that riding on the road section is a nightmare. "Thick dust clouds our vision while traveling to Maitidevi from Old Baneshwar. As soon as the dust trails out, you are greeted with waterlogged and boggy road," he said expressing utter disgust with the condition of the road.
The condition of the road is so worse at the Maitidevi Bridge that vehicles are not even able to fill fuel at the adjoining Maitidevi petrol pump. "I don't even like to stop at the petrol pump to fill fuel. It's simply not navigable. The government neither gives us good constitution, nor proper roads," said Bajracharya.
Inability of the government to complete the construction of the road has seriously dwindled business in the area. Rajeshowri Shah, boutique store owner in Old Baneshor, complained that her business was being tremendously affected due to the poor road condition. She urged stakeholders for completing the construction at the earliest, without any further delays. "I'm still hopeful. The government would not let us down."
While the public and businesses along the Sinamangal - Bag Bazar area are facing troubles on a daily basis, spokesperson at DOR, Umesh Jha said that the construction cannot be completed within a few days by using a magic wand. "We can't just wave a magic wand and construct the road within a few days," Jha said adding that the "public should understand that we also have procedures to follow."
He said that the construction will be completed in three months. "If the contractors fail to complete the construction within the three months time frame, we'll take legal action against them," he claimed.
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