CHITWAN, June 7: Tourists entrepreneurs are excited with the vehicular movement for 24 hours a day along the Narayangadh-Muglin road section.

The road section that remained closed for six hours during day hour has come into operation round the clock after the completion of first-level of blacktopping.

Chairperson of Regional Hotel Association, Suman Ghimire, said that tourists willing to visit Chitwan were compelled to change their destinations towards other places including Pokhara due to traffic jam along the road section following the closure of vehicular movement for six hours a day.

Ghimire further said that number of tourists visiting Chitwan was decreased by 15-20 per cent due to the road. There was no smooth vehicular movement along the road section due to road expansion drive started three years ago.

Similarly, senior Vice-Chairperson Deepak Bhattarai said that package program targeting tourists was affected following the closure of vehicular movement.

He said that the number of tourists visiting Chitwan, Sauraha would increase with smooth vehicular movement along the road section.

Sauraha Chairperson of Restaurant and Bar Association Nepal, Gokarna Giri, said that the number of tourists visiting Chitwan is increasing along with round-the-clock operation of vehicular movement along the Narayangadh-Muglin road section. RSS

KATHMANDU, Jan 2: The Narayangadh-Muglin road will remain shut from 10 pm to 4 am every day in order to carry out road maintenance starting today.

Since the construction works of the Prithivi Highway, the only road — the only road connecting the capital with the East-West highway—has been sluggish, the road widening works are being carried out during the night to expedite the project. The project was supposed to be completed by April 2015.

“The road will be widened during the closed hours while black topping the roads will be done during the day,” according to engineer Shiva Khanal, information officer of the highway project.

“The roads could also be partially closed during the day as well,” he added.

Narayan Prasad Bhatta, Chief District Officer said that the road expansion works are being done during the nighttime in order to manage traffic during the day.

The bar will be effective until the next notice.

CHITWAN, Oct 5: Alternative to the Narayangadh-Muglin road section has been explored considering the growing traffic and the difficulties in course of the road widening.

Eight thousand to 10 thousand vehicles ply this road section on a daily basis. It is estimated that this number will reach around 15 thousand in the coming five years.

It is seen that the road being widened at present would not be able to accommodate the increasing traffic pressure after five years. For this reason, alternatives to this road section are being sought.

In this connection, the rural road linking Malekhu in Dhading district and Bhandara in Chitwan has been presented as the first choice as an alternative to the Narayangadh-Muglin road. However, this rural road needs to be widened and upgraded.

The second alternative is the proposed route from Muglin to Gaindakot of Nawalparasi via Devghat.

The consultant for preparing the detailed design of both the alternative roads has already been selected, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) project director at the Department of Roads, Keshav Kumar Sharma, said.

A Korean consultant has been selected for preparing the design of seven more roads and three bridges along with the two alternative routes. Sharma said an agreement to this effect would be signed next week.

The consultant has been asked to submit the report on the Malekhu-Bhandara road within a year and the report on other roads and bridges within one and half years. RSS