Road expansion on the Sanga-Dhulikhel road section along the Araniko Highway has been halted due to the monsoon.

The road widening drive would resume once the monsoon exits from the country, the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel, Dhulikhel-Sindhuli-Bardibas Road Project informed

However, road expansion has been obstructed at Poolbazaar area on the road section for the past four months due to protest from locals.

The road expansion drive has not progressed in the area around 200 meters with some reservation of locals.

Project engineer Bishnu Prasad Khanal said though discussions were frequently held with stakeholders, including people's representatives of the municipality and local residents, concrete results have not been yielded yet.  

With the obstruction of the locals, various activities such as removing houses and huts along with high-tension electric poles, and erecting other electricity poles have come to a standstill.

Meanwhile, expansion of a six-lane road from Suryabinayak, Bhaktapur to Dhulikhel, Kavrepalanchowk along the Araniko Highway is not going to be completed on time. Roughly around six months is left for the termination of the deadline.

A target was set to complete the 16-kilometer road within 36 months. The road expansion task started on January 8, 2023.

The bidding was solicited by dividing the 16-kilometer road – from Suryabinayak to Sanga and Sanga to Dhulikhel as part of the expansion drive.

According to the project sources, only around 50 percent construction works have been completed so far.

Project's senior divisional engineer and Information Officer, Sajana Adhikari informed that around 65 percent physical progress would be attained till the stipulated deadline.

The widening drive has been delayed due to several reasons, including local aggression.