Trees cut down in full swing under Road Expansion Project

Trees are being cut down in full swing in Tanahu section under Mugling Pokhara Road Expansion Project. The felling of trees on the left and right side of the road has been intensified in Tanahu section under Prithvi Highway.

Chief of the Mugling Pokhara Road Project (Eastern Section) Narendra Subedi informed that the trees within the road area have been removed under the plan to make Mugling Pokhara Road four lanes. "About 50 percent of the trees have been cut down from Jamune to Aabukhaireni under the eastern section," he said. According to him, the project is also moving ahead with the work of widening the road.

Of the 3,063 trees to be cut in the section from Jamune to Pokhara, 1,800 trees have been cut down so far. As the contract agreement for the western section was delayed, there was some delay in starting work on this section. It is said that after cutting down the trees, the electricity poles will be shifted and the houses will be removed.

During the road expansion, 6,750 trees have to be removed in Tanahu section. Assistant Forest Officer at the Division Forest Office Kashiraj Pandit informed that the road project will cut down the trees and hand them over to the Forest Office.

The road expansion plan has been taken forward by dividing it into two sections. The contract has been signed by dividing the section from Jamune to Aabukhaireni and from Jamune to Pokhara.

The four-lane road is being constructed with the loan assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as the traffic congestion is increasing on the road lined in 2026 BS. Eighty kilometers of road has been divided into two sections and contracted. China Communication Construction has won the contract for upgrading 41.45 km of road in the eastern section of Aabukhaireni-Jamune. The contract for 39 km of Jamune-Pokhara western section has been awarded to Chinese company Yanhui Kaiyuan Highway and Bridge Company. For the eastern section of Aanbukhaireni-Jamune at Rs. 6 billion 213.13 million

The contract has been signed.

The contract for the Muglin Pokhara Road Project West (Jamune-Pokhara) section has been awarded to Yanhui Kaiyuan Highway and Bridge Construction. A contract worth Rs. 7.40 billion has been signed for this section.

The four-lane road boundary will be 25/25 meters in both directions. A 41-meter wide road will be constructed in densely populated areas. According to the design, 41-meter road will be constructed in Damauli and Dumre Bazaar of Tanahu. The width of the road from Dulegauda to Khairenitar Bazaar, Kotre Bazaar area, and from Kaski's Gagangauda to Pokhara will be 46 meters.

When the road becomes four-lane, a new bridge will be built in place of the existing one. The project has stated that 31 new motorable bridges should be constructed along the four-lane road at a distance of 80 km from Aabukhaireni to Pokhara. Out of the 31, contracts are yet to be signed for construction of bridges on Madi river in Damauli and Seti river in Pokhara. The other 29 bridges will be constructed under the contract in two packages.