Nagdhunga tunnel road will be Nepal’s third, Churia tunnel road is first and Bhulbhule’s second

Injina Panthi / October 23, 2019

Prime Minister KP Oli speaking at the foundation laying function of Nagdhdunga tunnel road on October 21.              Photo: youtube/UjyaaloTV

Prime Minister KP Oli speaking at the foundation laying function of the Nagdhunga-Sisnekhola tunnel on October 21, 2019 said: “…This is a happy occasion, we have introduced tunnel technology in road and highway construction. In the energy sector, for electricity generation, and for drinking water and irrigation we had constructed canals but had not used this kind of technology in road and highway construction. Today, with a new technology we have taken a new leap forward…”

South Asia Check has examined the claim of the prime minister.

Swiss geologist Toni Hagen in his book “Building Bridges to the Third World: Memories of Nepal 1950-1992” mentioned about a tunnel road in Nepal. On page 24 of the book he wrote: “ An auto of Maharaja’s was waiting for us in Amlekhganj to take us on a dirt road up into the Churia Range and through a hundred-meter-long tunnel to the northern side of the broad dune valley.” Hagen had visited Nepal in 1950 during the Rana regime. Nowadays, the Churiya Tunnel way is not in operation. The Province 3 government is working to preserve it as a historical site.

However, a 340-meter long tunnel road in Bhulbhule of Lamjung district is already in use.

Therefore, the under-construction Nagdhunga-Sisnekhola Tunnel road is not the country’s first. The prime minister’s statement is misleading.

Here are a few related news reports:

https://baahrakhari.com/news-details/6369/2016-09-23

http://annapurnapost.com/news/104759

https://ekantipur.com/koseli/2017/05/06/20170506095327.html

Historic road tunnel

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