Surkhet, July 4 -- Simkot, the district headquarters of Humla in Karnali province, has finally been connected to Nepal's national road network. The long-held dream came true with the construction of a Bailey bridge over the Chuwakhola river in ward 5 of Kharpunath Rural Municipality, effectively linking Simkot via the Karnali Corridor.

The bridge, built in just 35 days by the Nepal Army at a cost of around Rs40 million, is scheduled to be officially inaugurated by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on July 6. With the connection now complete, vehicles can travel directly from the Indian border town of Rupaidiha to the Chinese border town of Hilsa-a journey of approximately 505 kilometers-without needing to switch vehicles.

With this, the long...