Gorkha, Feb. 10 -- Road upgrade work from Bahrakilo to Barpak, the epicentre of the Gorkha earthquake in 2015, began nearly nine years ago. But the 46-kilometre stretch from Bahrakilo in ward 11 of Gorkha Municipality to Barpak in ward 1 of the Barpark-Sulikot Rural Municipality has not yet been completed, leaving the local people in hardship.

"[CPN-UML chief and current prime minister] KP Sharma Oli visited Barpak a few months after the devastating earthquake and assured that the road would be widened and blacktopped by 2018. Villagers were quite hopeful since the project contract had already been signed," said Jit Bahadur Ghale, a local resident of Barpak.

"The road is in terrible condition. Locals suffer from the dust during the dry ...