The Kodari division of the Barhabise-Kodari Highway, which leads to the Tatopani border point, has been resumed. With the agreement made by the government to start long-term supervised work that will be long-lasting in the Eco Zone. The highway has apparently become an area that is at high risk of getting a landslide. This happened quickly in just two months.The locals in the Bhotekopshi Rural Municipality-2 were highly affected by the landslide in early December. So from that time, the roads were set to be closed. The affected areas include 10 Kilo, Koplang, Ghattekhola, and Kodari. A group of people from that area has started a protest campaign. The main reason for this protest campaign was to request that the government live freely and be secure from the landslide problem. They are highly demanding to get protected from such natural disasters.
On September 18, an agreement was made between the Director General of the Department of Roads, Bijay Jaisi, the Chief District Officer, and the landslide victims. The agreement was supposed to be made to announce a tender for the road construction. They were to initiate the work by mid-October. Unfortunately, the tender didn’t go well, facing many disagreements and difficulties. Due to this reason, the local people in the community went on to block the highway.
However, the government agreed to the demand of the locals and issued a tender for prolonged landslide control. Rs. 48.9 million was allocated for this tender. Hence, the locals were happy with this initiation. They finally agreed to remove the blockade on the highway. They were strongly looking forward to it and wanted the work to begin as soon as possible. There were huge numbers of affected areas, such as Damar, Tartrang, Kudung, Chermang, Lalbir Chowk, Milan Bazaar, Chaukidanda, and many other areas.
The Tatopani Custom office has admitted that with the blocked roads being reopened, the trucks that were carrying goods have been grounded in Khasa, and Ramite has moved on.
