अर्बेनी–७, गुल्मीका भीमलाल न्यौपाने, ७२, लाई अहिले सदरमुकाम तम्घास आउन स्याङ्जा–पाल्पा हुँदै दुई जिल्ला घुम्नुपर्दैन । आफ्नै दैलोअगाडि गाडी चढेर चार घन्टामै सदरमुकाम पुग्छन् । उनी भन्छन्, “बाँदर लड्ने भीरको बाटो पैदल हिँडेर तम्घास पुग्नुपथ्र्यो । यति छिटो देखिएको यो परिवर्तन कहिलेकाहीँ त सपनाझैँ लाग्छ ।”
तम्घासबाट करिब ८० किलोमिटर पूर्वमा रहेका हर्मिचौर, अर्बेनी, जयखानी, पूर्तिघाट, खड्गकोटजस्ता एक दर्जनभन्दा बढी गाविसलाई कालीगण्डकी करिडोरले सुगम बनाइदिएको छ । करिडोरको गुल्मीको रिडीदेखि पूर्तिघाटसम्मको ट्रयाक खुलेपछि यस क्षेत्रका गुल्मी, स्याङ्जा, पर्वत र बाग्लुङका बासिन्दाको दैनिकी र जीविका नै फेरिँदै छ । गुल्मी खण्डको ४५ किलोमिटरको ट्रयाकमा अहिले साना–ठूला सवारी साधन चल्न थालेका छन् । यो खण्ड बाग्लुङको सिमाना खड्गकोटको बरल्वासम्म जोडिन्छ ।
लामो समय अल्झिएको यो खण्डको काम करिब ५० करोड रुपियाँ खर्चेर नेपाली सेनाले सकेको हो । ०३९ देखि नै ट्रयाक खोल्ने प्रयास सुरु गरिएको थियो । ०५७ मा हर्मिचौरमा कालीगण्डकी करिडोरको शिलान्यास भएपछि यसले तीव्रता पाउने अपेक्षा गरिएको थियो । तर, विभिन्न बहानामा काम ढिलो भयो र अन्तत: तीन वर्षअघि नेपाली सेनालाई जिम्मा दिइयो । करिडोर निर्माण कार्यदलका प्रमुख सेनानी रेश्मीराज भट्टराई भन्छन्, “३४ वर्षदेखि अलमलमा परेको ट्रयाक हामीले ३ वर्षमै खोल्न सफल भयौँ ।”
कालीगण्डकी करिडोरका रूपमा काम सुरु हुनुपूर्व नै सरकारले व्यापारिक पारवहन मार्गका रूपमा देशभर आठवटा उत्तर–दक्षिण करिडोरको परिकल्पना गरेको थियो । मुस्ताङको कोरलाबाट बेनी, कुस्मा, मिर्मी, पाल्पा हुँदै रुपन्देहीको बेलहिया जोड्ने योजना थियो । पछि कालीगण्डकी करिडोर योजना अगाडि सारिएपछि राम्दी पुल, गुल्मीबाट कालीगण्डकी किनारैकिनार नवलपरासीतर्फ काम सुरु भयो भने पाल्पा–बुटवल खण्डमा थप काम हुन पाएन । “उत्तर–दक्षिण व्यापार मार्गका रूपमा गैँडाकोट पुग्नुभन्दा पाल्पा हुँदै बुटवल झरेर भारतको सुनौली पुग्नु धेरै छोटो पर्छ,” सडक विभागका सहसचिव गोपाल सिग्देल भन्छन्, “तर, गैँडाकोटसम्मको १ सय ३० किलोमिटर सडकले नदी किनारका फाँट र दुर्गम गाउँहरूलाई दिने पहुँचलाई नजरअन्दाज गर्न मिल्दैन ।”
गुल्मी खण्डमा ट्रयाक खोल्ने काम सकेर अहिले सेनाले बाग्लुङको छिस्तीदेखि टुटुंगासम्मको २६ किलोमिटर खण्डमा काम गरिरहेको छ । टुटुंगादेखि बाग्लुङको बलेवा विमानस्थल हुँदै मालढुंगासम्मको १४ किलोमिटर ट्रयाक यसअघि नै खोलिसकिएको छ । “२६ किलोमिटरको काम पूरा भएपछि गुल्मीको रिडीदेखि मुस्ताङसम्म सजिलै पुग्न सकिन्छ,” प्रमुख सेनानी भट्टराई भन्छन् ।
भारतको सुनौली नाकादेखि चीन जोड्ने मुस्ताङको कोरला नाका जोड्ने उद्देश्यले सुरु गरिएको उत्तर–दक्षिण व्यापारिक पारवहन मार्ग कालीगण्डकी करिडोर ४ सय ३५ किलोमिटर लामो छ । २२ अर्ब रुपियाँ लागत अनुमान गर्दै सरकारले तेस्रो राष्ट्रिय प्राथमिकताको आयोजनामा राखेर ०५९ देखि निर्माण सुरु गरेको थियो । त्यतिखेर २० वर्षभित्र सम्पन्न गर्ने सरकारको लक्ष्य थियो । योजना अनुसार आगामी पाँच वर्षभित्र करिडोरको जोमसोम–कोरला खण्डमा ग्राभेल र बाँकीमा पिच सम्पन्न हुँदै छ । “गरिबी निवारण, दिगो आर्थिक विकास र विकेन्द्रीकरणमा सहयोग पुर्याउने सडकको अवधारणा हो,” करिडोर सरोकार समितिका प्रवक्ता टीकाराम ढकाल भन्छन्, “पाल्पा खण्डको काम अझै बाँकी रहँदा करिडोर पूर्ण हुन सकेको छैन । र, काम नसकी उद्देश्य पूरा गर्न सकिँदैन ।”
यो करिडोर सम्पन्न भएपछि पश्चिमाञ्चल विकास क्षेत्रका ६ जिल्लाका दुर्गम भेगमा यातायात जोडेर तिनलाई सुगम मात्र बनाउने छैन, हिमालदेखि पहाड र तराई हुँदै व्यापार विस्तारसमेत गर्ने अपेक्षा गरिएको छ । नवलपरासीको गैँडाकोटदेखि पाल्पाको राम्दी, पीपलडाँडासम्मको १ सय ३० किलोमिटर खण्डमा ट्रयाक खुलिसकेको छ । पाल्पाको राम्दीदेखि अर्गलीसम्मको ३३ किलोमिटर खण्डमध्ये तीन सय मिटरमा मात्र ट्रयाक खुल्न बाँकी छ, जसमा काम सुरु भइसकेको छ । यो आर्थिक वर्षमै बेलहियादेखि कोरलासम्म ट्रयाक जोडिएपछि स्तरोन्नतिको काम हुने अधिकारीहरू बताउँछन् ।
हिमालदेखि भारतको त्रिवेणीसम्म नुन बोक्ने प्राचीन रेशम मार्गमा यो करिडोर निर्माण भइरहेकाले यसले ऐतिहासिक महत्त्व राख्ने करिडोर निर्माणका अगुवा एवं पूर्वमन्त्री प्रदीप ज्ञवाली बताउँछन् । भन्छन्, “हिन्दुहरूको पवित्र तीर्थस्थल मुक्तिनाथ धाम र बौद्ध धर्मावलम्बीको धार्मिक स्थल लुम्बिनीलाई पनि सीधा जोड्ने एउटै मार्ग हुनु नै पनि यसको एउटा महत्त्वपूर्ण पक्ष हो ।” प्राचीन र धार्मिक महत्त्वसँगै करिडोर निर्माणले तीन अञ्चल र ६ जिल्लाका १० लाख ३० हजार जनसंख्यालाई सीधा सडक सञ्जालमा जोड्नेछ । अहिले निर्माण भइरहेको सडकको चौडाइ साढे सात मिटर छ । कालीगण्डकी तटीय क्षेत्र हुँदै निर्माण भइरहेकाले कृषिजन्य उत्पादन, पर्यटन विकास, विद्युत् उत्पादन, उद्योग स्थापनामा समेत यो करिडोरले योगदान गर्ने आशा गरिएको छ ।
सरोकार समितिका प्रवक्ता ढकाल भन्छन्, “हिमालको काखबाट बग्दै आएको कालीगण्डकीको तटीय क्षेत्रको प्राकृतिक सौन्दर्य, झरना र धार्मिक सम्पदा, सांस्कृतिक पर्यटनको प्रचार–प्रसार र विकासमा समेत करिडोरले महत्त्व राख्नेछ ।
- घनश्याम गौतम, तम्घास, नेपाल म्यागेजिन
यो पनि पढ्नुहोस्
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- कालीगण्डकी करिडोरको काम तीव्र: अनलाइन खबर
- कालीगण्डकी करिडोर दोस्रो खण्डमा काम सुरु: काठमाण्डु टुडे
- यसरी बन्यो कालीगण्डकी करिडोर परिकल्पना: नयाँ पत्रिका
- यस्तो छ भारत र चीन जोड्ने छोटो बाटो: अन्नपूर्ण पोष्ट
Bhimlal Neupane, 72, of Arbeni-7, Gulmi, now does not have to travel through two districts via Syangja-Palpa to reach the district headquarters, Tamghas. He can reach the district headquarters in four hours by riding a vehicle right in front of his door. He says, “I had to walk along the path of the monkeys’ cliffs to reach Tamghas. This change that has been seen so quickly sometimes feels like a dream.”
The Kaligandaki Corridor has made more than a dozen VDCs, such as Harmichaur, Arbeni, Jayakhani, Purtighat, and Khadgakot, located about 80 kilometers east of Tamghas, accessible. With the opening of the corridor’s track from Ridi in Gulmi to Purtighat, the daily lives and livelihoods of the residents of Gulmi, Syangja, Parbat, and Baglung in this area are changing. Small and large vehicles have now started plying on the 45-kilometer track of the Gulmi section. This section connects the border of Baglung to Baralwa in Khadgakot.
The Nepali Army has completed the work of this section, which has been stuck for a long time, at a cost of about 500 million rupees. Efforts to open the track had been started since 2039. It was expected to gain momentum after the foundation stone of the Kaligandaki Corridor was laid in Harmichaur in 2057. However, the work was delayed for various reasons and was finally handed over to the Nepali Army three years ago. Lieutenant General Reshmiraj Bhattarai, the chief of the corridor construction task force, says, “We managed to open the track that had been in confusion for 34 years in just 3 years.”
Even before the work on the Kaligandaki Corridor began, the government had envisioned eight north-south corridors across the country as trade transit routes. The plan was to connect Korala in Mustang to Belahiya in Rupandehi via Beni, Kusma, Mirmi, and Palpa. Later, after the Kaligandaki Corridor project was moved forward, work began on the Ramdi Bridge, Gulmi along the Kaligandaki banks towards Nawalparasi, but no further work was done on the Palpa-Butwal section. “It is much shorter to reach Sunauli in India via Palpa than to reach Gaindakot as a north-south trade route,” says Gopal Sigdel, Joint Secretary of the Roads Department. “However, the access that the 130-kilometer road to Gaindakot provides to the riverbanks and remote villages cannot be ignored.”
After completing the track opening work on the Gulmi section, the army is now working on the 26-kilometer section from Chisti to Tutunga in Baglung. A 14-kilometer track from Tutunga to Maldhunga via Balewa Airport in Baglung has already been opened. “After the completion of the 26-kilometer work, it will be easy to reach from Ridi in Gulmi to Mustang,” says Major General Bhattarai.
The Kaligandaki Corridor, a north-south trade transit route launched with the aim of connecting the Sunauli border crossing in India to the Kerala border crossing in Mustang, China, is 435 kilometers long. The government had started construction in 2059 under the third national priority project, estimating a cost of Rs 22 billion. At that time, the government's goal was to complete it within 20 years. According to the plan, the Jomsom-Korala section of the corridor will be graveled and the rest will be paved in the next five years. "The concept of the road is to help in poverty alleviation, sustainable economic development and decentralization," says Tikaram Dhakal, spokesperson for the Corridor Concerned Committee. "The corridor has not been completed as the work on the Palpa section is still pending. And, the objective cannot be fulfilled without the work being completed."
Once this corridor is completed, it will not only make transportation accessible to remote areas of six districts of the Western Development Region, but it is also expected to expand trade from the Himalayas to the hills and the Terai. The 130-kilometer section from Gaindakot in Nawalparasi to Ramdi and Pipaldanda in Palpa has been opened. Of the 33-kilometer section from Ramdi in Palpa to Argali, only 300 meters of the track are yet to be opened, on which work has already begun. Officials say that the upgrading work will be carried out after the track is connected from Belahiya to Korala in this fiscal year.
This corridor is being built on the ancient Silk Road that carried salt from the Himalayas to Triveni in India, so it has historical significance, says Pradeep Gyawali, the leader of the corridor construction and former minister. He says, “An important aspect of it is that there is a single route that directly connects the holy pilgrimage site of Hindus, Muktinath Dham, and the religious site of Buddhists, Lumbini.” Along with its ancient and religious significance, the construction of the corridor will directly connect 1 million 30 thousand people in three zones and 6 districts to the road network. The width of the road currently being built is seven and a half meters. Since it is being constructed along the Kaligandaki coastal area, it is expected that this corridor will contribute to agricultural production, tourism development, electricity generation, and industrial establishment.
Dhakal, spokesperson for the Stakeholders' Committee, says, "The corridor will also play an important role in promoting and developing the natural beauty, waterfalls, and religious heritage of the Kaligandaki coastal area flowing from the lap of the Himalayas, as well as cultural tourism."
- Ghanshyam Gautam, Tamghas, Nepal Magazine.