 DIPESH SHRESTHA |
Lila Mani Poudel, Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office, has had a torrid Dasain. It all began last year when, travelling home to Gulmi, he noted with shock the state of the Prithvi Highway leading out of the Kathmandu Valley. Overloaded tipper trucks carrying wet sand and rocks excavated from river beds had sunk deep ruts into the highway. Upon his return to work, Poudel instructed the transport management departrment to prohibit overloading. The reports that landed on his desk suggested progress was being made.
To his horror, Poudel discovered the road was in far worse shape when he travelled home this Dasain. "They tricked me," he lamented in a front-page editorial in Nagarik last week alongside a photo of a section of the ruined highway between Naubise and Nagdhunga. Those in the excavation business have always claimed they were providing employment and paying hefty taxes. Indeed, they may have lined the pockets of the relevant authorities with millions. It has been estimated repairs will cost upwards of a billion and a half rupees.
Poudel's travel travails were far from over. He observed that at several points along the highway, either police or apparently unauthorised men were collecting fees from public transport vehicles, including the microbus he was travelling in. This was taking place under various pretexts, with or without receipts. Poudel called the police chief of Chitwan to complain, en route. The incident led to the suspension of four police personnel. They subsequently accused Poudel of using his position to interfere with a legitimate fine they were imposing on the driver.