RASUWA, Oct 16: The road connecting Galchhi-Mailung-Syaphrubesi-Rasuwagadhi has witnessed 62 percent work progress in the first segment of its enhancement project.

The road from Galchhi to Rasuwagadhi has been divided into three sections for the upgradation project: Galchhi-Mailung, Mailung-Syaphrubesi, and Syaphrubesi-Rasuwagadhi. The 82 km Galchhi-Rasuwagadhi road is 25 kilometers shorter than the existing Dhunche-Syaphrubesi road.

The first segment of the road link along Galchhi-Mailung is 46 kilometers long. According to the Galchhi-Mailung-Syaphrubesi-Rasuwagadhi Road Project, a total of 34 km of road has been black topped. Walls are being constructed while hills are being cut at a number of locations of the rest of the portions in this segment. The deadline for the completion of the Galchhi-Mailung segment has recently been extended to mid-January.

Likewise, the project has also started preliminary work in the Mailung-Syaphrubesi segment with awarding the contract to a construction company. Currently, the contractor is busy clearing the segment damaged by the recent landslides.

Tibet Thiyanalu Company Limited, a Chinese company, has been given the contract of upgrading the Syaphrubesi-Rasuwagadhi road. The Chinese company is yet to start its work.

Project Chief Narayan Dutta Bhandari said work has been hampered by the spread of COVID-19. According to him, Nepali authority has started shifting electric poles situated on the road sides.

Of the 32 bridges planned for construction, designs of 11 have been finalized and 10 are under construction. While five are at the stage of cost estimations, detailed project reports are being prepared for the rest of six bridges. According to the project, the agreements will be signed with contractors for the construction of these bridges by the end of this fiscal year.