RUKUM, Nov 5: Karnali Province's Agriculture and Cooperative Minister Bimala KC finds it very inconvenient to travel to her home district Rukum everytime she has to. There is no direct road access to Rukum from the provincial capital Birendranagar. The lack of bridges over Sanibheri and Sanibheri rivers forces travelers to take the detour.
“The lack of a direct road network from the provincial capital has made the travel full of hassles and difficulties,” said Minister KC. “Although the travel is supposed to take much shorter time in terms of distance, we are facing problems because of the lack of a road network.”She has to park her vehicle at Rinma Police Post of Jajarkot and take another vehicle after walking some distance from there.
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There are three routes to reach Rukum from the provincial capital. They are Chaurjahari-Sanibheri-Musikot, Chaurjahari-Nuwakot-Musikot and Salli-Jajarkot-Aathbiskot roads.
However, all these routes require crossing the Sanibheri and Thulivbheri rivers. Lack of bridge over the rivers not only forces travelers to change vehicles but also to walk on foot for some distance. The problems increase tenfold during monsoon. If the roads are obstructed during monsoon, commuters have to take the Surkhet-Kohalpur-Dang route to reach Rukum.
Raju Lamichhane of Rukum pointed out various problems faced by the commuters while traveling from Birendranagar. “Firstly, it's very difficult to find a public vehicle. Even when we do, the poor condition of the roads and overloaded vehicles give additional hassles and put the lives of commuters at a great risk.”
