Kathmandu, October 6: Fuel has been transported by drone to facilitate repairs on the Beni–Jomsom–Korala road, which connects to the Korala border point and has remained obstructed for the past week. The road, currently the only operational trade route between Nepal and China, was damaged by heavy rains, prompting the use of drones to transport fuel for repair and upgrading works.
Diesel was transported by drone with the assistance of the Nepali Army after a shortage of fuel for equipment being used to repair the road. Flooding of the Kali Gandaki River has washed away around 250 metres of road at Kunauta in Raghuganga Rural Municipality–2, making even pedestrian movement difficult.
According to Tejaswi Sharma, chief of the Beni–Jomsom–Korala Road Project, diesel was transported by vehicles from Beni to Kunauta and then flown across the damaged section with the help of a drone.
“We used the drone because it was not possible to carry the fuel manually,” he said. “A total of 400 litres of diesel was transported across the damaged section in six flights.”
According to Sharma, an Army team then transported the diesel from Kunauta to Pokharebagar, the administrative centre of Annapurna Rural Municipality.
Major Rakesh Basnet of Shatrubhanjan Battalion said the diesel was transported by drone with the assistance of technical personnel who had arrived from Kathmandu. He said 120 litres of diesel was transported at a time to Kunauta. The Army had previously used drones to transport relief materials to flood-affected areas in Rasuwa. On Saturday, the Nepali Army and volunteers also helped transport diesel from Tilkenichaur in Raghuganga–3 to Baisari.
Around 20 bulldozers and hundreds of workers have been mobilised to repair sections of the road damaged by flooding and erosion along the Kali Gandaki River. Project chief Sharma said repair works are under way at Pokharebagar, Ratopani, Ghirchyang, Mahabhir, Bhirkate, Rahupare and Tilkenichaur.
“The approach road to the Pokharebagar road bridge is also being repaired. The Department of Roads and the construction company are working in parallel to reopen the blocked sections of the road,” he said.
The road from Maldhunga in Parbat district to the Korala border point on the Chinese border is 202 kilometres long. Around 12 kilometres of the road in the Kunauta–Pokharebagar section of Myagdi remain to be repaired. In other sections, light vehicles have begun operating one-way after repairs.
Narendra Subedi, chief of the Federal Road Supervision Office in Pokhara, said work was under way with the target of completing repairs within this week. He said the Korala border point has become particularly important for trade with China as the Rasuwa and Tatopani border points remain closed.
According to Subedi, the government is giving high priority to reopening the road connecting to the Korala border point as soon as possible.
The time has also come to transport apples from Mustang to the market. The period for bringing sheep and mountain goats down to the markets for Dashain and Tihar is approaching. With the tourist season also beginning, pressure has increased to reopen the Beni–Jomsom road at the earliest.
RSS
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