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The road connecting Madhumalla in Morang with Chulachuli in Ilam and Rabi in Panchthar.

A road linking Uralbari in Morang with Madhumalla, Chulachuli in Ilam and Rabi in Panchthar has remained incomplete for more than five decades, despite being a long-standing dream of residents of northeastern Morang and southern Ilam, as well as parts of Panchthar and Taplejung.

The road was inaugurated 55 years ago, in 1971 (2028 BS), by then minister Nagendra Kumar Pradhan. The foundation stone had raised hopes among residents of southern Ilam and northeastern Morang.

Locals of Chulachuli and Sakphara in Ilam had particularly hoped that the road would allow them to travel to the district headquarters by road. However, the road has remained outside the priorities of both the provincial and federal governments, leaving residents of southern Ilam to face the same difficulties for decades.

Locals of Chulachuli Rural Municipality-6 have to travel through Morang and Jhapa to reach their own rural municipality office. This is not a new problem.

Residents of Sakphara had dreamed that the road would reduce the distance between the hills and the Tarai and allow them to travel to the district headquarters by bus. But more than five and a half decades have passed and the road is still unfinished.

During every election, political parties, both major and minor, promise to complete the road and seek votes. But locals still cannot reach their own rural municipality office without travelling through Morang and Jhapa.

The road was reportedly overlooked during the Panchayat era because of differences between political leaders from Panchthar and Morang. Locals became hopeful after the restoration of multiparty democracy, expecting the road to be built.

In 1994, then finance minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari included the road in the government’s Red Book, raising hopes once again. However, the government did not allocate a budget for the project despite listing it in the Red Book.

After the government continued to neglect the road, locals, under the coordination of Uralbari Youth Club, organised a gathering of representatives from Morang, Ilam and Panchthar in 2007 and formed a consumer committee under the chairmanship of Lal Bahadur Shrestha.

Through local labour contributions, financial support and persistent efforts, the committee eventually opened a road track through difficult sections of the Chure region, including Sisne, Ekaipaile, Tinchule and Chhalasukhuwa. The track reached Rabi in 2017.

Locals celebrated when an ambulance reached Phungnam for the first time after the track was opened. At present, small vehicles can travel along the road with difficulty during the dry season.

But when the monsoon begins, the hardship of around 840 households in Chulachuli-6 starts again. Streams, water flow and landslides damage several sections of the road during the rainy season.

The road track was opened under the leadership of local residents including Lal Bahadur Shrestha, Dipak Shrestha, Bhakta Shrestha and Prakash Shrestha of Sakphara-6, Phungnam.

After the track was opened, local leaders from Uralbari and Madhumalla, including Man Bahadur Shrestha, Sher Bahadur Basnet, Bedanidhi Dhakal, Devi Prasad Acharya and Sewanta Dahal, repeatedly visited government offices under successive governments, seeking budget allocations for the road. However, successive governments have provided only assurances.

Dil Kumar Rai, ward chairman of Chulachuli-6, said the road is 52 kilometres long, with around 30 kilometres falling within Chulachuli-6.

“The section from Toribari in Miklajung-8 of Morang to Daregauda Bhanjyang on the Panchthar border lies within the geographical area of Chulachuli Rural Municipality-6,” he said. “During the monsoon, we have to travel through Morang and Jhapa to reach our own rural municipality office.”

He said the road had become like a dream for local residents. “We heard that Rs. 30 million was allocated for the road two years ago. But although the money was allocated, the road contract was never awarded,” Rai said.

According to locals, the 52-kilometre road section does not have any major rivers, meaning that large bridges would not be required for its construction.

Residents say that despite living within Ilam district, they feel neglected by Ilam and overlooked by Morang.

By Hari Prasad Koirala