April 1: It has been four years since the government initiated the road expansion drive along the Chabahil-Jorpati-Sankhu road section, dismantling road-side structures and pavements. However, the authorities are yet to blacktop the busy road along which hundreds of vehicles ply every day. Travelling along this road is a nightmare for commuters while the locals and vendors have been suffering from the air pollution and traffic congestion in the area.

Dismantled structures still lie scattered in many places on both sides of the road, which is full of potholes. During rainfall, the road resembles a field ready for plantation while during sunny days it looks like an arid desert with sand storm.

Traffic jam adds to the woes of the commuters in this vital road section, which is one of the major entry points into the capital. The road has been in this situation since the last four years.

Whoever travels along this road wishes never to travel through it again. But they have no other option than to make the annoying trip due to lack of alternative routes.

The authorities have been digging the road time and again in the name of upgrading it. They fill the pit and then lay gravel but do not blacktop it. Since the road not given finishing touches and is left as it is, it soon returns to its former ugly state. The same process has been repeating again and again since the last four years.

Although some sections of this road in front of big hotels and resorts have been blacktopped, most of it is still in pathetic condition. At present, the concerned authorities have dumped aggregate on the road side for graveling it. But no one knows how long they will have to suffer the same fate.