The Melamchi Water Supply Project has blocked the motorable road leading from Sundarijal towards Sindhupalchok and Nuwakot, cutting off a route used by hundreds of people every day and drawing strong objections from local residents. The obstruction, in place for the past week, was carried out so that the project could build a structure at the Mahankal section of Sundarijal, on the northern edge of the Kathmandu Valley, according to reports published by Rato Pati and Khabarhub.

A busy northern route severed at Mahankal

The road from Sundarijal has traditionally served as a vital link between the Kathmandu Valley and the districts that lie beyond its northern rim. Hundreds of people travel along it on a typical day, whether to reach destinations in Sindhupalchok and Nuwakot or to continue further towards Gosaikunda and Helambu. Gosaikunda, a high-altitude lake revered by pilgrims, and Helambu, a region known for its trekking trails and villages, both draw a steady flow of visitors for whom the Sundarijal road is a customary starting point.

That flow has now been interrupted. The Melamchi Water Supply Project blocked the road at the Mahankal section in Sundarijal in order to construct a structure there, and the obstruction has remained in place for a week. For a route that normally carries hundreds of daily users, a full week without motorable access represents a significant disruption, and one that residents say is being felt across the area.

The impact of the closure extends across several groups:

  • Hundreds of daily travelers who traditionally use the road to move between Sundarijal and Sindhupalchok and Nuwakot
  • Pilgrims and trekkers heading towards Gosaikunda and Helambu, for whom the route is a customary passage
  • Residents of the area who rely on motorable access for their routine journeys out of Sundarijal
  • Local communities along the road, whose movement is now severed mid-route at Mahankal

Residents voice objections

The closure has prompted objections from local residents, who say the blocked road has made travel seriously difficult. Among them is Sushil Simkhada, a local resident, who said the week-long obstruction has caused serious travel problems for people in the area.

Simkhada's complaint points to the core of the residents' frustration: a road that hundreds of people depend on every day has been rendered impassable, leaving those who need to travel facing serious difficulty. For people accustomed to heading out from Sundarijal towards Sindhupalchok and Nuwakot, or towards the pilgrimage and trekking destinations beyond, the closure has disrupted journeys that they make as a matter of routine.

The objections come from a community that regards the route as a traditional and essential artery. The road has long been the passage through which people reach Gosaikunda and Helambu, and its unavailability at Mahankal, residents indicate, has left them with serious inconvenience that has persisted throughout the week of construction work.

The project behind the blockade

The Melamchi Water Supply Project is one of Nepal's best-known infrastructure undertakings, developed over decades to bring drinking water from the Melamchi River in Sindhupalchok to the Kathmandu Valley. Sundarijal, where the project has long maintained infrastructure connected with its water supply system, sits at the point where the project's works meet the valley, which is why construction activity in the area can intersect directly with local roads.

It is precisely that intersection that has now produced the standoff. In blocking the road at Mahankal, the project has prioritized the construction of a structure at the site, but in doing so it has cut off the motorable link that locals describe as indispensable. The week-long duration of the closure, rather than a matter of hours or days, has intensified the sense of grievance among residents.

Frustration builds as closure continues

With the road still blocked, objections from the local community continue. Residents' objections have focused on the week-long disruption of a route that serves hundreds of people daily, including travelers bound for Gosaikunda and Helambu, and Simkhada's account of serious travel problems captures the mood on the ground.

The situation highlights a recurring tension in infrastructure development: the works of a large national project, however significant their purpose, collide with the everyday mobility of the people who live alongside them. For now, the Mahankal section of Sundarijal stands as the flashpoint, with the project's structure under construction and the road towards Sindhupalchok and Nuwakot closed, and with local residents waiting for the day the route reopens.