The Mailung-Syaphrubesi section of the Galchhi-Trishuli-Mailung-Syph-rubesi-Rasuwagadhi road project, which was obstructed by landslides some nine months ago, has not yet been cleared of landslide debris.

Subodh Kumar Devkota, chief of the road project, claimed that they have been unable to remove the debris because it has taken them time to get permission from the Nepal Army (NA) for a blast required to clear the section of big boulders.

The NA completed the construction of the 17-km-long Mailung-Syaphrubesi section, the track opening of the stretch of the shortest India-Nepal-China overland route, which runs from Thori on Nepal’s southern border to Rasuwagadhi on the northern border, in January 2018.

According to the road project, around 200 metres of the track is still blocked by the landslide debris, while the rest of the road section has been cleared. “We will soon carry out the blasting work and clear the debris. The road will come into operation within the next 10 days,” said Devkota.

The road clearance work has been in progress since mid-January. The locals of Timure along the road stretch had submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister of Province 3, Dormani Paudel, asking him to take prompt initiatives to clear the road stretch.

Road upgradation work along the Galchhi-Trishuli-Mailung-Syphrubesi-Rasuwagadhi road is scheduled to be conducted in three phases. The road expansion work, construction of the retain wall and the drainage canal are underway along the Mailung-Syaphrubesi section. About 40 percent work has been completed so far, said Devkota.

The Galchhi-Trishuli-Mailung-Syphrubesi-Rasuwa-gadhi is a national pride project that has been deemed as a

strategic road network that will connect the southern and northern neighbours. This road is key to implementing the Transit Transport Agreement signed between Nepal and China during the then prime minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to Beijing in 2016.