An estimated Rs 3 billion to Rs 4 billion will be required to restore the Beni-Jomsom-Korala road after floods, landslides and river erosion damaged sections of the highway in late September.
Tejashwi Sharma, chief of the Beni-Jomsom-Korala Road Project, said the Kaligandaki River swept away or destroyed road sections at 10 locations, while landslides damaged 50 others following heavy rainfall from September 24 to 27.
Although initial repairs restored traffic within two weeks, the road's full reconstruction will require substantially more funding, Sharma said. The work will include river and landslide control measures and upgrading the pavement in Myagdi's road section, where the existing surface treatment needs improvement.
The 202-kilometre road connects Maldhunga in Parbat through Beni in Myagdi to the Korala border crossing in Mustang. The 33-kilometre section in Myagdi suffered the heaviest damage, with erosion and landslides affecting both previously vulnerable areas and new locations.
Narendra Subedi, chief of the Federal Road Inspection Office in Pokhara and the project's founding chief, said the road had sustained its most extensive damage since construction began in fiscal year 2016-17. He said the recently upgraded section in Myagdi had been particularly badly affected.
