The construction of 335.76 kilometres of postal roads have been completed in Dhanusha, Mahottari, Siraha, and Sarlahi districts in Madhesh Province by the end of the last fiscal year, 2023/24. 

Of the total, 231.88 kilometres of the roads were built with funding from the Government of Nepal, according to the Postal Highway Directorate, Project Office Janakpurdham.

Ranjit Kumar Roy, Engineer and Information Officer at the Janakpurdham’s Project Office, said that 103.88 km of roads in Dhanusha and Mahottari districts have been constructed with Indian grants.

In the last fiscal year, Rs. 899.4 million from the budget allocated by the government of Nepal was used for postal roads construction in the four districts.

“The Government of Nepal had invested Rs 8.51 billion in the postal roads project, which began in the fiscal year 2015/16, by the last fiscal year” said Roy. “However, nearly 58 kilometres of the road section is yet to be asphalted.”

The office plans to blacktop 20 km of the road section in the current fiscal year.

Once completed, the postal road will provide market access to agricultural produce and other goods of the Tarai region, said Jagdish Mandal of Kaptole in Dhanusha.

The road will directly and indirectly support the development of rural economy, education and health services, and open the door to more employment opportunities in the region, added Ram Sagar Yadav, a local.