March 21: The Karnali Highway has become worn out due to the use of heavy vehicles like tippers and tractors for ferrying sand and aggregate. Lack of timely maintenance has also resulted in the sorry state of the highway which links Surkhet with Dailekh, Kalikot and Mugu districts.

Locals complain that the road becomes dusty during winter and muddy in the rainy season.

Dozens of places along the Badicharu-Lower Dugeshwar section of the Highway in Surkhet have caved in. Drivers say they have been facing difficulties in driving especially in the road section between Lower Dugeshwar to Tunibagar of Dailekh as the black-topping has come off. The road section from Jyula of Dailekh to Manma of Kalikot also suffers the same fate.

“The black-topping has come off,” says Prem Bahadur Khatri, a driver, adding, “Let’s not talk about the potholes. It’s beyond description.”

According to Khatri, it takes more than four hours for cargo vehicles to cross a 46-kilometer stretch of the highway from Lower Dugeshwar. He added that the number of vehicles along the road section has increased but the road condition has worsened.

Most of the drivers say it is very challenging to drive along the highway.

“Pedestrians curse us because our vehicles cover them in dust,” says another driver Bishnu Shahi.

Shani says that the local government has shown no interest in upgrading and maintaining the road. It is only when the problem becomes acute during the monsoon that the authorities start discussing solutions for the perennial problem.