overview of rural transportation infrastructures in nepal

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Overview of Rural Transportation Infrastructures in Nepal

S.B.Bhandari1, P.B. Shahi2 and R.N. Shrestha3 1Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur, Nepal

Email: [email protected]

2Faculty of Science & Technology, Pokhara University, Pokhara, Nepal Email:[email protected]

3Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur, Nepal

Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Drawing upon relevant literatures, this article provides an overview on Rural Transportation Infrastructures in Nepal. The rural transportation infrastructures are very essential elements for the development of the country. In ancient Nepal, there are several trade routes connecting India and China. At that period the entire mode of transport was non-motorized. The country developed motorized transport system only after 1951. The development of rural transportation infrastructures was done only after the people movement 1990. The rural transportation infrastructure, specially rural roads built in significant villages, because of decentralization policy of Nepal It has about 40,000 km rural roads, 53 airports, 3492 trail bridges, a few no's ropeways and 34 km railways in this country. Vehicles ply on most of these rural roads only in dry season. Construction of bridges and upgrading is needed for the sustainable rural transport of the country.

Key Words: Rural Roads, Trail Bridges, Ropeways, Motorized Transport Systems

1. INTRODUCTION

Rural transport enhances access to markets for both inputs and outputs through a reduction in

transaction and trade costs (transport and logistics costs). The greater availability, both in terms of

funding and physically speaking, of inputs increases their use by farmers. Consequently, agricultural

productivity can increase. Rural Transport also allows producers to achieve additional productive

opportunities, leading to a rise in production that is highlighted by numerous studies (Raballand et. al,

2010). Rural transport is one of the key components for rural development as it promotes access to

economic and social services generating increased agricultural income and productive employments

(Chandra Shekhar et al, 2010). Efficient rural transport could play a vital role in poverty alleviations

and overall development of the country. Rural Transportation Infrastructure is a key to raising living

standards in poor rural areas. As agricultural output from rural areas is a very significant component of

the national economy in the country, the rural transport systems require as much attention from

transport planners as does inter-urban transport. From another angle, providing peasants an

adequate access to social services, such as medical and health services and advices, proper

nutritional care for the young and education facilities, would determine to a large extent the

improvement of social and economic welfare of the rural population. These are also important

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determinants to ensure the continued self-sustaining momentum of the rural development efforts

.There is evidence that because of poor geographical accessibility, basic public services do not reach

the majority of the population. Under this background, claims have also been made that by reducing

isolation, better roads and optimal facility locations reduce vulnerability and dampen income

variability. Thus, accessibility to various public facilities is important for the economic survival and the

welfare of rural communities. Considering these facts rural transportation projects are in top priority of

Government and many donor agencies, they are directly involving to the development of the

infrastructure projects. Rural transportation projects include rural roads, trails, ropeways, airways and

related other infrastructures.

The major rural transportation infrastructures in Nepal are rural roads, trails and airways. Nepal, with a

per capita income around US $556 (NPC, 2011) per annum is one of the least development countries

in the world. Over 25.4% of Nepal’s population still remains below the international poverty line (NPC,

2011). The majority of poor people lives in rural areas and depends primarily on agriculture for their

livelihood (Baskota, 2006). Even today more than 86% people still live in rural areas where minimum

physical infrastructures are still lacking. (Bhandary, 2011). Adding to this, it has one of the most

scattered rural roads networks in the south Asian sub region (DoLIDAR, 1999). Trails are time

consuming for mobility. Air transport is unaffordable for the rural people, however it has significant role

in the absence of other efficient mode of transport. To improve the living condition of rural people, or

in the other words, to reduce the rural poverty, the basic human facilities such as health services,

education and communication should be made available to these communities. A reliable rural

transport network is the key factor in stimulating economic activities and providing basic human

facilities in the rural areas. So the efficient rural transportation system, which enhances mobility and

accessibility of the rural people, is vital for the development country.

The establishment of Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads

(DoLIDAR) under the Ministry of Local Development, in Nepal and implementation of decentralization

policy in 1997 did an enormous service in linking villages across the country. Different types of rural

transportation infrastructures has been developed almost all the districts of Nepal, with the

involvement of multilateral and bi-lateral donor agencies, central government and local bodies.

2. RURAL TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURES IN ANCIENT NEPAL

There were several trade routes in ancient Nepal, connecting India and China. The trade relation

between Tibetan plateau, Nepal and Indian subcontinent is as old as human civilization. The

Mahabharata mentioned that Pandavas left Badrinath in Uttarakhand and crossed difficult Himalaya

where they reached the capital of Suvahu, the king of Pulindas (Kiratas). In another event,

Dhritarashtra wanted to give a thousand deer skins from China to Vasudeva Krishna. Chanakya (c.

350-283 BC), the prime minister of the Maurya Empire and a professor at Takshashila University,

refers to Chinese silk as "cinamsuka" (Chinese silk dress) and "cinapatta" (Chinese silk bundle) in his

Arthashastra (Economics). However, the trade relation between India, Nepal and China thrived after

the transmission of Buddhism. The Kautilya’s Economics has mentioned that the Mustang’s blanket

used to be sold in Patliputra (Patna). Bhadrabahu, the Jain saint and academician from Baisali of

India, saved his life from famine by taking refugee in Nepal (Shreshtha, 2011)

As per the study of Professor Dr. Chandra Bdr. Shreshtha on the ancient transportation infrastructures

of Nepal (Shreshtha, 2011, Shreshtha ,2010), the trade between salt rich Tibet and food grain rich

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mid-hills of Nepal continued over centuries. The Himalayan highlanders supplemented their meagre

income from their high altitude agriculture. The transit trade took place through Hatiya on the Arun

River, Namche Bazar in the Eastern hill region and Thakkhola in the western Nepal. The entrepot

trade used to take place through Kathmandu. The main items that were imported from India and re-

exported to Tibet through Kathmandu were pearls, coral, amber, cotton, silk and other textile goods,

sugar, spices and tobacco, indigo, otter and other skins, English glassware and cutlery, and opium.

Items imported from Tibet and re-exported to India included gold, musk, silk, woollen and other textile

goods, borax and tea. A treaty signed in the 17th century granted preferential treatment to Newar

merchants in Tibetan trade. Newars were permitted to open trading houses in Tibet and were

exempted from custom duties and other charges. Tibet agreed that its trade with India, even though

conducted by other than Newar merchants, would be channelled though the Kathmandu valley in

preference to the routes to the east, including to the route via Sikkim . The passes of Kerung (Rasuwa

– Nuwakot – Kathmandu) and Kuti (Kathmandu – Khasha – Kuti), through which the transit trade was

conducted, were then the shortest and most convenient routes between Bengal and Tibet. Moreover

they were situated below snow line which was even passable in winter. After travelling 19 days from

Kerung or 16 days from Kuti, traders reached the town of Digarcha, from which Lhasha lies at a

distance of 273 Km which would have been covered in eleven days more (Kirkpatrick, 1811). In the western Nepal as well, there was an extensive trail networks throughout the history particularly

during the last 1000 years. Tuchhi (1956) found that there were a fairly good trail networks between

the Indian Plain and the Zan – zun (Zhang Zhung) and Guge provinces of Tibet during the medieval

period. The businessmen of India used to go from this roadway to Suvarnabhumi for procuring gold

and doing business of their commodities (Tuchhi, 1956). It is further confirmed that most of trades

between India and Tibet used to take place through Nepal. Hager (1961) points out that the trade

routes of Khojarnath, Mugu, Langu, Mustang and the Manasarowar Lake were in use for about one

thousand years and they ceased to be used after 1959 A.D. After realizing the significance of this

road and the troubles of the pilgrims and tradesman, Devavarma Chhatyala, the Prime Minister of

Prithivimalla, built a fine reservoir (vapi) on its right side in the vicinity of Dull. It provided water and

shelter to the tired pilgrims of the road. A large numbers of inscribed pillars are found on the road

between the Surkhet Valley and Tibrikot. They served the purpose of milestones and acquainted the

traveller about the achievement of various kings and nobles who ruled over this region in the past

(Naraharinath, 1974). During the later medieval period this highway was linked up with several

capitals of the Baize Rajas (Hamilton, 1819). Regmi (1966) also mentioned that there was an ancient

all weather trails from Jumla to Surkhet Valley through Dullu. The evidence of such trail is further

confirmed by Fürer-Haimendorf (1975). He mentioned that there were two main routes serving the

trade with Tibet and these two routes correspond to the two branches of the Karnali river system, the

Mugu Karnali and Humla Karnali. The route through Humla Karnali was more important in so far as

the volume of trade is concerned. However, after opening up a transit route through Chumbi Valley of

Sikkim, the transit trade through Nepal experienced an adverse impact. Situated at an altitude of 4310

m. above the sea level and so more accessible than most other passes leading to the Tibetan plateau

through the Himalayas, the valley was a natural gateway to Tibet (Majumdar, 1971). Later on, British

India constructed a road from Calcutta to Jelapa Pass through Darjeeling. After construction of the

road, one could travel from Calcutta to Lhasa in about three weeks that is less than half time required

for the Calcutta-Kathmandu-Lhasa journey (Regmi, 1988). Direct trade between India with Tibet

decreased Nepal’s importance as transit route. The trade between Nepal and Tibet decreased

because Tibet started to import identical goods from India otherwise they would have imported from

Nepal. The evolution of motorized transport and Indo-Chinese war in 1962 had further impact on trade


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between Tibet and Nepal. As Sino-Indian tensions mounted in the late 1950s, Indian soldiers and

technicians assisted in staffing some of the check posts on the border with Tibet. Although Nepal did

not become involved in the hostilities, the Sino- Indian war of 1962 forced the Nepalese to

acknowledge their country's perilous position (Bam, 2005). The historical evidence shows that the Garhwali rulers had devised a number of arrangements for

maintaining lines of transport and communications from Kathmandu to different districts. As

mentioned by Regmi (1987) these arrangements could be described under two main headings: An

east-west track through the hill region and postal service for the transportation of official mail and

supplies. However, Rana rulers (until 1950), according to Regmi (1987), refrained from constructing

large-scale transportation infrastructure because they were afraid that economic development should

provide a motive for the British to annex the Kingdom. Road construction initiative took place after the

fall of Rana Regime. The major emphasis on the construction of a strategic road network during the

period of 1950 – 1975 gradually changed and the country started to focus on constructing roads of

regional importance.

3. RURAL ROADS

The Rural Road is one of the important rural transportation infrastructures for motorized access .The

history of the development of roads in Nepal is not very long. It was obviously in 1924 that the first

road development programme was initiated in the country. About 2 to 3 km paved road was

constructed in Kathmandu valley at that time. A 42 km long all weather gravel road linking Amlekhganj

with Bhimphedi was built in 1929 (DoR, 2000). Nepal, before the establishment of democracy in

1951, had the paved road only in Kathmandu and it was limited to about 2 or 3 kilometres in length.

There were unpaved road network in Kathmandu but were not designed for motor vehicles. There

were unbuilt road tracks in the Terai (southern plain) and they were used only in dry seasons. The

rest of country, that is the hills and and the mountains, had only foot trails and mule tracks. "Mul

Batos" or "Hulaki batos" were the official main arteries of trails. They were constructed and

maintained with cent percent contribution of adjoining areas. Before festival, such as in hill areas, the

trails were maintained with volunteer service of local people for 10-15 days each year. The foods for

volunteers were provided by local senior rich people at mid day only. After 1951, the responsibilities of

building roads and subsequent maintenance in different and carefree in this (MoLD, 1997)

Figure 1: First motor car in Nepal (1901)

After the storage of democracy from 1951 to 2012 the road infrastructure was developed appreciable

in amount .The authorative role for the road infrastructure had been shouldered by the Public Works

Department, which is restructured to Department of Roads in 1970, however, some other agencies


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are also often involved in the task of road construction. For instance in Badahakim ( administrative

chief of the district) Santabir Lama played important role for the construction road from adjoining

Indian border PashupatiNagar to district headquarter Ilam and surrounding village in Ilam district. The

construction of Malekhu-Dhading Besi Road was done with forced volunteers from the Dhading

district with the initiation of Chief District Officer.

After the dawn of democracy in 1951, the need of linking Kathmandu with the Terai was felt quite

urgent. The first long distance road to link Kathmandu with the Terai was taken up in 1953 with the

Indian assistance. This 115 km long road between Thankot of Kathmandu and Bhainse was opened

to traffic in 1956 (DoR, 2000). The agreement among the Governments of India, United States of

America and Nepal in 1958 to establish the Regional Transportation Organization (RTO) for building

roads is an organized and planned way on a long term basis, was the first effort in the history of

Nepalese motorized road construction in Nepal (Shrestha et al., 2011). The RTO formulated a 20-year

program to build north-south roads connecting Indian cities and railheads along the border (Shrestha

et al., 2011). A road linking to Kathmandu, Dhulikel and Sindhuli was started to construct. But King

Mahendra took power of the multiparty elected priminister and the RTO was also collapsed. After the

collapse of RTO in 1962, Nepal continued its effort to invite donors and build roads. The decade of

1960 to 1970 is a milestone in the construction of highway in Nepal. Second highway Siddhartha

Rajmarga connecting Sunauli and Pokhara was constructed by Government of India in this period.

The earlier policy of emphasizing north-south roads was replaced by the east-west roads like the

East-West Highway (1026 km) , Prithivi Raj Marg (Kathmandu - Pokhara, 176 km) and Araniko Raj

Marg( Kathmandu-Kodari :Chinese Boarder, 113 km). With the internal resources of Nepal and

contributions received from the major donor countries and agencies like India, China, then USSR, UK,

USA, Switzerland, Japan, World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB), Nepal developed

the present strategic road network (DoR, 2000)

Before 1990 District Panchayats were also playing some role as an authority in constructing roads of

local nature, but it was not that institutionalised as to take the over all responsibility of it. After the

people movement of 1990's, the road network is classified as strategic road network (SRN) and local

road network (LRN). SRN (Highways and feeder roads) was under the responsibilities of Department

of Roads and LRN (District Roads and Village Roads, which are also called rural roads) was under

the responsibilities of local institutions: District Development Committee (DDC) and Village

Development Committee (VDC). The construction of rural roads geared with high speed after the

decentralization of rural roads construction. In 1995 each VDC (in Nepal 3915 VDC's) were provided

300,000 NRs grants from the Government. This grant is continued up to now and increased year by

year and increased up to NRs three million up to this fiscal year. DDC had given authority to collect

land revenue, tax collection from sand, stone and aggregates and other agricultural products. Most of

the resources collected and received from local institutions were used in rural roads construction.

Besides several multilateral and bilateral donor agencies such as the World Bank, the Asian

Development Bank, World Food Programme, GTZ, HELVETAS, DFID also provided assistance in the

rural construction. As the result the length of rural roads was increased 9 folds from 4,520 km in

1997(MoLD, 1997) to 40,000 km 2011 (DoLIDAR, 2011) According DoLIDAR present rural road length of rural roads (Local Road Networks) in Nepal is as follows.

Table 1: Rural Road Status in Nepal 1995 2000 2005 2010


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Total length of Rural Road, km

2662a 14000 b 22,105c 40,000 e

Earthen Road, km 2662a 11650 b 16,875c 31,700 e Gravel Road, km - 2050 b 3,882c 7,500 e

Black Top Road, km - 300 b 357c 1,200 e All Weather Road, km - 2000 b 4000d 12,000 e Fair Weather Road, km

2662 a 8300 b 12,176c 6,000 e

Non-operational Road, km

- 3700 b 9,929c 22,000 e

Total population ( '000)

20,940 22,000 24,000 26,620

Road Density, km/100 sq. km.

1.8 9.5 15 27

Population served per km, nos/km

7866 1571 1085 665

Sources: a Nepal Rural Road Standard (2054), Ministry of Local Development (unpublished) b DoLIDAR, National Plan for Rural Maintenance, 2056 c Upadyaya (2005) d Rural Infrastructure Development Strategic Action Plan(2007-2009), 2007 e DoLIDAR (2011)

As per Local Infrastructure Policy, 2061, there should be all weather rural roads within 2 hours walking

distance in Terain and 4 hours walking distance in hill in the country. Still 39% people in hill and 13%

people in terrain don't have such facilities (MoLD, 2004).

4. AIR TRANSPORT

Air service plays significant role in development particularly of a mountainous country, like Nepal with

rugged topography. Construction of surface transport infrastructures is expensive and time consuming

such type of topography. Air transport provides fast services also. The high value and perishable

commodities are traded through air routes. Domestic air transport has a significant place in the

transportation of goods and passenger to and from the hinterland and remote areas. Currently, there

are altogether 53 airports in Nepal, of which only 32 are in operation. Altogether 10 air fields including

one international airport have got the bituminous paved runways. A second international airport has

been planned to be constructed in Nijgadh. There are 37 STOL (short take-off and landing) airports

that handle small aircrafts. Currently, altogether there are 70 aircrafts of different types belonging to

different airlines of Nepal. (Rajkarnikar, 2010). The existing airports are shown in figure below.


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Six are engaged in domestic service (Economic Survey/2009).

As far as domestic airlines are concerned, Nepal has got a good network of private airlines. The

Government has given license to a dozen or two private airlines to operate in Nepal. These airlines

generally ply small Dakota planes that are mostly 20-seater. Bigger planes only operate to transit cities

such as Pokhara, Biratnagar, Nepal Gunj and Kathmandu.

5. TRAIL BRIDGES

The topography of Nepal is rugged, harsh and diverse. As a result, communication in the hilly region,

which is bounded by plain terrain and the Tibetan plateau, is extremely complicated. More than 6000

numbers of rivers and rivulets flowing through the landscape are of great threat to the smooth and proper

movement of pedestrians on the trails. Still, there are only very few motorable bridges over these river on

rural roads. In monsoon season from June to September most of these rivers are affordable. Those who

cross these rivers on foot risk losing their lives, livestock and property. Days of waiting on riverbank for

crossing the rivers to suitable time are waste of time, energy and money. There are several traditional

trails developed a long century ago. These trails links India and Tibet (China) and joins several villages to

service centres, market centre. To overcome such hardship in rivers and rivulets, Nepal has been making

use of some form of trail bridges from the last centuries. Trail bridges are one of the oldest rural

transportation infrastructures in Nepal. In this country, chain bridges seem to have developed in the

beginning of the 18th Century. Iron Chain bridges still exist today.

Although Nepal was still closed to foreigners at the beginning of the 20th century, this did not deter the

then government of Nepal to build trail bridges at important locations along a few carefully selected

principal trade routes. In the early 20th century, some 29 ‘Scottish’ bridges were built at important trade

route (Tuladhar, 2007). Trisuli bridge (1900), Tadi bridge (1901), Sundarighat bridge (1903), Chovar

Bridge (1903) and Mangaltar Bridge (1907) are the examples of such bridges (Harper, 2012).These

bridges were manufactured in Scotland, dispatched in “parcels” to Nepal and subsequently erected at the

site. As the pace of construction was slow and the number of bridges was unsatisfactory, the Government

established in 1964 the Suspension Bridge Division, which was superceded by the Trail Bridge Section in

2001. In 1972, the Swiss government became involved in building trail bridges in the request of the His

Majesty's Government of Nepal. Since then, the Swiss government, through Helvetas, has been providing

Figure 2: Lukla Airport (the most dangerous Airport of the World


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technical as well as financial support in planning, construction and maintenance of trail bridges. In hilly

region of Nepal BBLL ( Bridge Building at the Local Level, a trail bridge programme with the assistance of

Swiss government) is very popular. On the request of many communities, Helvetas developed a simple

bridge type, modelled after traditional bridges that used to be built in the District of Baglung, Nepal. The

bridge type that emerged is based on reviving traditional skills, optimizing local materials and skills while

minimizing the negative impact on the environment in order to ensure its replicability nation-wide.

Communities reciprocated by submitting unprecedented requests initiating and undertaking the

construction of local bridges. Spans for these Community-bridges range from some 40 to about 120

meters. These types of trail bridges are also called Short Span Trail Bridges (SSTB).

With the support of the BBLL, the communities (users) themselves have constructed several thousands

number of trail bridges in the country since the last decade (IOE, 2002). The BBLL programme built SSTB

type trail bridges with span less than 100 m of suspension types and less than 120 m of suspended type

with the participation of local people in selection, construction and maintenance. Suspension Bridge

Division, with the support of Helvetas has developed type design for such type of trail bridges. A lower

level technician can design these types of trail bridges choosing from type design.

With Swiss technical assistance, a bridge type was developed that has proven to be durable and

especially suitable for “long” spans. Typical bridge spans range from 120 to 350 meters. This “first

generation” of trail bridges is denoted today as Long Span Trail Bridges (LSTB). The LSTB were built by

government through Suspension Bridge Division with local contractors.

Long span trail bridges were built mostly on the Main Trail at a rate of up to 30 per year. Although this

was a significant improvement compared to the Scottish bridges, it was still not enough to meet the high

demand for local bridges connecting the numerous settlements. Moreover, the sturdy long span bridges

were too costly for poor communities. Initially the Long Span Trail Bridges were built by the Government-proper. As time advanced a modus

operandi was developed whereby the private sector, that is Consultants and Contractors built bridges.

Today, Local Bodies merely plan as well as facilitate bridge construction and the private sector (incl.

NGOs) implements. Community bridges on the other hand have always been implemented through the traditional Users’

Committees established by the Community to build their “own” bridge. Users’ Committees receive support

from Local Bodies, supplying funds and a local NGO to provide technical and social organizational

support on their behalf. In the institutional landscape that emerged over the last five years, Local Bodies

facilitate bridge building through the private sector for Long Span Trail Bridges (LSTB) and Communities

supported by local NGOs for Short Span Trail Bridges (SSTB). Communities also play a key role as

initiators of long span bridges in order to cease the top-down tendency. The Central Government, through the Trail Bridge Section, of DoLIDAR has assumed the role of policy

maker/enforcer of the newly developed Trail Bridge Strategy (TBS/LIDP) as well as coordinator for which

the Nepal Trail Bridge Register (NTBR) has become its prime tool. The Strategy is auxiliary to the Local

Infrastructural Development Policy and is intended to propagate the role of all the concerned parties and

has seven Manuals that incorporate the norms, standards, technologies, procedures, etc. at its core. The


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Strategy along with the manuals is to result in safe as well as cost-effective bridges and a transparent

administration. Several other agencies such as Rural Area Development Programme, Care Nepal, and Gorkha British

welfare are also involved in trail bridge construction in Nepal. There are 3492 trail bridges in Nepal with

cumulative span 213,677.50 m (Source TBS: DoLIDAR).

The longest trail bridge in Nepal is

Dodhara-Chandani Bridge, over the Mahakali River, spanning 1.46 km. This bridge is situated between

Dodhara and Chandani VDC of Kanchanpur, Nepal. It takes about half an hour to cross the bridge (it

takes longer because of of its up-down structure).

The photo is of suspension bridge which connects Kushma to Gyandi, i.e. two cliffs separated by Modi

River situated in Parbat, Nepal. It is considered one of the tallest suspension bridges in Nepal with height

of 135 meters. It is one of the longest bridges with length of 344 meters. It reduces a tough 1 hour walk to

about 5 minutes. Many people cling to the safety wall of bridge due to the height and length in fear.

6. RAILWAYS

Nepal has only two short rail links, one from Janakpur (Nepal) to Jayanagar (India) and next from Birgunj

(Nepal) to Raxual (India) (Rajkarnikar, 2010). The Janakpur-Jaynagar 42 km rail link is the oldest one

(established in 1934 from Janakpur to Inaruwa and further extended to Jayanagar, India) and narrow

gauge for goods and passengers. The condition of this rail line is dilapidated. The Janakpur-Jayanagar

railway is providing services to the rural people of Nepal mainly southern VDCs of Dhanusha District,

where there is no alternate public transport system.

The 5.4 km rail from Birgunj dry port to Raxaul (India) is for goods traffic only. This railway has come into

operation from July 2004 under the Rail Services Agreement signed between Nepal and India in 2004.

Figure 4: Kushma trail Bridge

Figure 3: Dodhara Chadani Trail Bridge


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This being a broad-gauge line has made possible to link Nepal with major cities and seaports of India.

Such a linkage avoids transhipment of cargo in border. The condition of this rail line is good and operating

smoothly.

7. ROPEWAYS

As Nepal is a mountainous country, it is not possible and easy to provide road linkages all parts of the

country. In such places we can provide these ropeway/cable car facilities. There are different types of

ropeway used in Nepal: Goods ropeway, cable car, wire bridges (tuin) and gravity goods ropeway. The

first Ropeway in Nepal was the Swayambhunath Ropeway, a 4 km cable system from a mine in Halchowk

to Lainchaur. Rana Prime Minister Chandra Shamsher commissioned it in 1924 to cater to Kathmandu's

palace-building spree that was in full swing at the time. ( Zimmermann, 2010). The second ropeway was

31 km long Dhorsing-Matatirtha ropeway, built in the 1930s. The ropeway was extended from Hetauda to

Teku (Kathmandu in 1964 with $6.4 million assistance of USA and the length is increased to 42.3 km

length. It was operated till 1994 for the transportation of goods (Maarteen, 2004). Manakamana cable

car, the first public carrier cable car with length 2.8 km was built in November 1998. It takes 10 minutes

from Kurintar to Manakamana temple ( a Hindu temple).

Wire Bridges (Tuin) are an indigenous technology and one of the most common structures for river

crossing in the hilly region of rural Nepal. There are more than 6000 rivers in Nepal and most of the rivers

have no means of crossing. Because of that, many people have lost their life during monsoon (attempting

to cross). There are more than 15 tuin in operation along the Trisuli River, on average nearly 50

households are using each tuin which amounts to more than 300 people using each tuin. New technology

for improved tuin has been developed and constructed in many places in river crossing.

Figure 5: Tuin


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There are few gravity goods ropeways, used in Nepal such as Gyalchowk- Gorkha to Jogimara-Dhading

(1163 m. long, completed in 2010 with cost $ 19,632) and Bhumlichowk-Gorkha to Fisling Bazar-Chitwan

(1412 m. long, completed in 2009 with cost $18131) (Singh, 2011), Lapa, Dhading (4100 m long)

Bhattedanda-Majhkhanda, (4200 m long). Gyalchowk Ropeway and Bhumlichowk Ropeway were

constructed with the support of Practical Action and IFRTD (PA, 2012). Bhattedanda ropeway was

constructed with the assistance of Poverty Alleviation Funds.

Some other Ropeways in Nepal are as follows.

Khimti Material/Passenger Ropeway (Kirne to Bhotechhap ) 2.2 km 3 Tonne carrying capacity

Jhimruk( Darimchhaur – Khaira ) Material Ropeway 1.8 km, used by Jhimruk Hydro Electric &

Rural Electrification Project, Pyuthan

Andhikhola Material Ropeway in 1984

Gorkha, Barpak Material Ropeway 2.3 km

Udayapur, Udyapur Cement Factory Ropeway 5 km

8. CONCLUSION

Due to the decentralization policy of government of Nepal, many thousands km of rural roads and several

thousands number of trail bridges have been constructed in Nepal. The community-based decentralized

rural road construction in Nepal seems to be the most effective method of road construction in

mountainous areas using a labor-based approach (Gurung, 2010). The rural road facility provided

multiple benefits in socio-economic, environmental conservation, behaviour change and integrated

development activities (Gurung, 2010). These rural roads have increased life standards in many fold and

reduced poverty. Still a lot of rural roads are only fair weather or non operational due to lack of motorable

bridges and /or none engineered construction of roads. Construction motorable bridges shall be

emphasized and technical input in planning, construction and maintenance of rural roads. Gravitational

goods ropeways are very effective in hill areas. It should be promoted in all of the part of the country.

Figure 6: Improved Tuin

Figure 7: Ropeway


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9. REFERENCES

Baskota, M., 2006, Project for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Mountain Regions, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal

Bhandary , N. P., State of Road Disasters and Experiences from the Current Road Building Practices in Nepal, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University 3 Bunkyo, Matsuyama 7908577, Japan www.neajc.org/seminar_papers/Bhandary_NetraPrakash.pdf

Chandra Shekhar, Prof.B.P. Pawan nath, G. Madhavi Vedula, 1995, A Critical Review of innovative Rural Road Construction Techniques and their impacts, NRRDA, INDIA

DoLIDAR, 1999, National Plan for Rural Road Maintenance, Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads, Jawalakhel, Lalitpur

DoR 2000, Nepal Twenty Year Road Plan, Department of Road, Babarmahal, Kathmandu

Gurung, N. S., 2010, Community-Led Rural Road Construction in Nepal, Occasional Paper, Future Generations, Graduate School, www.future.edu

Harper, 2012, Harper Bridges, www.harperbridges.com IoE , 2002, A Training Course Manual on Trail Bridges, Research and Training Unit, Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University Maarten, 2004, Rust in Peace, Nepali Times journal (Issue No. 209, 13 - 19 August 2004) MoLD, 1997, Nepal Rural Road Standard (2054), Technical Assistance Unit, Technical Division, Ministry of Local Development, Shree Mahal, Pulchowk, Lalitpur MoLD, 2004, Local Infrastructure Development Policy 2061, Ministry of Local Development, Shree Mahal, Pulchowk, Lalitpur NPC, 2011, Three Year Plan of Nepal (Nepali version), Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission, Singhdarbar, Kathmandu, Nepal Raballand, G., Macchi, P., and Petracco, C., 2010, Rural Roads Investment Efficiency -Lessons from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Uganda, The IBRD/The World Bank Rajkarnikar, P.R., 2010, Adequacy and Effectiveness of Logistic Services in Nepal: Implication for Export Performance, Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade Working Paper Series, No. 79 Shreshtha, Chandra Bdr., 2010, Why Should We Preserve Trans-Himalaya Heritage Routes? International Workshop on Transport in Mountain, 21-27 November, 2010, Kathmandu, Nepal Shreshtha, C. B., 2011, Strategies for Developing North South Transit Roads in Nepal, International Conference on Sustainable Development of Transport System ,Kathmandu, 20 -22 October 2011 Shreshtha, H., 2010, Road vs. Hill Environment: The Trend of Road Construction in Nepal, International Workshop on Transport in mountain, 21-27 November, 2010, Kathmandu, Nepal Shreshtha, H., Shreshtha, U., 2011, District Transport Planning Trend in Nepal International Conference on Sustainable Development of Transport System, Kathmandu, 20 -22 October 2011 Singh, R.B., 2011, A Green Technology Triggering Green Revolution in the Mountains, International Conference on Sustainable Development of Transport System, Kathmandu, 20 -22 October 2011 Tuladhar, A., 2007, TRAIL BRIDGE BUILDING IN THE HIMALAYAS, Enhanced Access, Improved Livelihoods, Helvetas, Swiss Association for International Co-operation


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Upadhaya, B., 2005, Rural Infrastructure Development &Prospect and Status of Consultancy Business in Nepal Zimmermann, M., 2010, Flying in a ropeway over Nepal, Nepali Times Journal (26 February-4 March 2010)


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overview of rural transportation infrastructures in nepal

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