Tanahun, May 2: Vyas Municipality of Tanahun has recently urged the concerned authorities to demolish the houses on the road in Damauli, district headquarters of Tanahun, within seven days.

The Municipality has urged the owners to demolish their houses after the road expansion work of the Mungling-Pokhara section of the Prithivi Highway got delayed. The road section falls under the jurisdiction of the municipality.         

Although the work on the highway is going on in full swing, the road has not been expanded in the Damauli area. 

Issuing a press statement on Monday, Mayor Baikuntha Neupane urged the owners to demolish the houses of Ward Nos. 2, 3 and 4 saying that the road expansion work from Aabukhaireni to Jamune (eastern section) up to Madi River bridge in the east could not take a pace.  

According to the statement, 21 house owners of Ward No. 4 and 19 of Ward No. 2 received compensation but they did not pull down their houses. 

Vyas Municipality has informed that some people even did not come to apply for compensation. But the municipality has urged locals to cooperate with it by immediately removing their houses. 

The road expansion work in the market area has been disturbed as the houses that fall on the road have not been demolished. 

The road is dusty and normal life has been affected due to the obstruction in road expansion. The municipality said that a situation would arise when the received compensation had to be returned if the road was not expended within the deadline. 

In Damauli market, the house owners have been reluctant to demolish the houses, and the municipality has informed the locals to demolish the houses within seven days. 

It has also warned that a legal process would be started to remove all houses and structures built within 25 metres on either side of the highway. 

After most of the people refused to demolish the houses, Vyas Municipality issued a press release on Monday.

An agreement for the expansion of the eastern section of the road was signed on January 30, 2021. The work started on April 15, 2021. 

The roads here have become dusty, and this has irked the locals. 

Shyam Kumar Yadav, Chief Engineer of the eastern section, said that locals should cooperate with the road expansion project by demolishing the houses for which compensation was determined. 

Yadav said that if the houses constructed by encroaching the road were not demolished, the deadline of the project required an extension which would lead to an increase in the project cost. 

Yadav further said, “The project has frequently sent letters to the locals requesting them to remove their houses.”

Three major and four minor bridges will be constructed along the 41.45-km road section. China Communication Construction has won the contract for the eastern section and the deadline for this section has already expired.