Tibet’s roads are dragging slowly
Dolpobuddha Rural Municipality resident Sanduk Tamang, 56, finds it difficult to get to Dolpa’s district headquarters because of the closed Chinese border. The residents import food for the remainder of the year and solely produce Uwa as a crop. With a road system linking the region, Tasi Lama, a resident of Mugamkarmarong, envisions a better future.
Lack of finance causes transportation issues for rural municipalities in Dolpa and Mugu districts, including Dolpobuddha, Chharkatangsong, Sheyphoksundo, and Mugamkarmarong. Although the federal government intends to build the Dunai-Lasikyap-Sisaul-Dho-Tinje road and the Bheri corridor and Gamgadhi-Nakchenagla routes, no funding has been set aside for these projects.
The Surya-Shreya-Shantidevi JV was given the contract three years ago to open a 25-kilometer section of the Dunai-Lasikyap route. Preparations are being made to turn over the road project to the Nepal Army, although just 15% of the construction has been finished. Only about 16 km of the 68 kilometer Gamgadhi-Nakchenagla road have been opened thus far, indicating that development is likewise being made slowly.
