The government has begun upgradation work on the much-touted highway connecting Sunauli, India and Korala, China through Jomsom; but locals along the Beni-Jomsom stretch are unaware about building standards, and they have been erecting houses that do not meet regulations.

The Department of Roads has not informed locals about building standards. 

As a result, the houses being constructed on the sides of the highway could be at risk due to the high-speed traffic that will appear after it is completed.

Meanwhile, land transactions have increased in the area. Besides houses belonging to the residents, government office buildings that do not meet the prescribed standards are also coming up along the highway. 

“We have heard that blacktopping work on the highway has started, but we are still not aware about the basic standard,” said Khadga Giri, former chairman of the Ghaar village development committee. “People are constructing houses along the highway track and land transactions have also increased.” 

If the highway standard is implemented, human settlements above Beni like Galeshwor, Tiplyang, Tatopani, Dana and Ghansa, Lete, Kowang, Marpha and Jomsom in Mustang face extinction. 

Narendra Subedi, chief of the Beni-Jomsom-Korala road project, said that there will be a buffer zone on either side of the highway measuring 15 metres from the centre line, as per a notice published in the Nepal Gazette. “We will start upgradation work on the Pokhara-Baglung section in the first stage. We have established a project office, and locals will be informed about the standard,” he said.  

According to the project office of the Kaligandaki Corridor project, they have been working on the construction of the Beni-Jomsom-Korala road section by dividing the project into two parts. 

The contract for the upgradation of the 105-km Jomsom-Korala section is worth Rs3.5 billion.  

Likewise, the blacktopping of the 76-km, two-lane Beni-Jomsom road stretch has been approved under the Finance Ministry’s multi-year project, and the cost is presently being estimated. Due to increasing cold, work on the upper section of the Jomsom-Korala road will begin after two months. “Both sections of the road will be completed in three years,” said Subedi.