Kathmandu, October 13 : Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has directed the concerned stakeholders to clear the construction site for the second phase of the ring road expansion project.
In a meeting held in the capital on Sunday, Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Kumar Nembang issued such a direction to the representatives of Prime Minister Office, Nepal Electricity Authority (NTA), Department of Road, etc
As per the meeting, the project of expanding the 8.2 km Kalanki-Balaju-Maharajgunjroad section should be taken forward by removing the electricity poles and the Chaitya (in front of Swayambhu Park) within a month and relocating the high voltage transmission line (between Karkhana Chowk and Sano Bharyang) within three months. Similarly, it decided to compensate the landowners whose properties fall along the construction site at the soonest.
The very instruction on the part of the ministry came in response to the unwillingness expressed by the Chinese government, which is funding the project, to start its work until the road section is cleared.
According to the plan, the Kalanki-Maharajgunj road section , which is going be expanded to 60 metres, will have an eight-lane road along with additional six-metre-wide lanes on both sides of the road for easy pedestrian movement. The road stretch will be divided by the divider for safety.
While constructing the 10.5 km-long Koteshwor-Kalanki road section as the first phase of the Ring Road expansion project, pedestrian-friendly infrastructures like crosswalks and overhead bridges have been grossly ignored. And this is responsible behind the frequent traffic casualties in the very road stretch. In the context, two underpasses, a flyover and 10 overhead bridges are being built along the Kalanki-Maharajgunj section in order to avert such casualties here.
