Karnali Highway
Encyclopedia
Karnali Highway is a highway, is a vital transport link as it is the main flow of goods between the two regions in Nepal
linking the towns of Jumla
, the Karnali capital, and Surkhet
. It is part of the Karnali Zone
, the largest, most remote and the least developed zone in Nepal. Of its 232 kilometres (144.2 mi) length, 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) were blacktopped in 2010, previously the unfinished highway journey was featured in a documentary The Karnali Express: Bumping on for 52 Hours Due to heavy monsoon
rains in 2010, the Karnali Highway was closed due to landslides from heavy monsoon rains, crops were destroyed by incessant rain, and 1/3 of the entire country was inaccessible except by foot. It was finally reopened October 3, three months later, but not until after starvation deaths.
According to “A Value Chain Analysis of Apple from Jumla”, and the intervention strategy indicates that more than 85 percent of the Karnali highway is still unsafe . Many rural inhabitants along the highway have poor access to markets, healthcare facilities and schools and deal with high transport costs. Inadequate roads make it hard for farmers to transport and market their crops. There is a pressing need to provide a functional road system in the area, made more urgent by current concerns over food prices and shortages, high energy costs and social and health needs Between 60 and 75 percent of children under five are chronically malnourished, and up to 64 percent of the population live in poverty.
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
linking the towns of Jumla
Jumla
Jumla can refer to a number of subjects*Mir Jumla, a prominent subahdar of Bengal*Jumla District, one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal*Jumla - a town in Nepal....
, the Karnali capital, and Surkhet
Surkhet
Surkhet is a district in the Bheri Zone of the Mid-Western Development Region of Nepal. Birendranagar is the administrative headquarter of Surkhet as well as the whole Mid-Western Development Region...
. It is part of the Karnali Zone
Karnali Zone
Karnali Zone in the Mid-Western Development Region of Nepal. The headquarters is Jumla.Karnali Zone is one of the poorest and most remote regions of Nepal, not very accessible by road yet. There are airfields in all districts except Kalikot which is connected by seasonal roadways to Jumla...
, the largest, most remote and the least developed zone in Nepal. Of its 232 kilometres (144.2 mi) length, 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) were blacktopped in 2010, previously the unfinished highway journey was featured in a documentary The Karnali Express: Bumping on for 52 Hours Due to heavy monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
rains in 2010, the Karnali Highway was closed due to landslides from heavy monsoon rains, crops were destroyed by incessant rain, and 1/3 of the entire country was inaccessible except by foot. It was finally reopened October 3, three months later, but not until after starvation deaths.
According to “A Value Chain Analysis of Apple from Jumla”, and the intervention strategy indicates that more than 85 percent of the Karnali highway is still unsafe . Many rural inhabitants along the highway have poor access to markets, healthcare facilities and schools and deal with high transport costs. Inadequate roads make it hard for farmers to transport and market their crops. There is a pressing need to provide a functional road system in the area, made more urgent by current concerns over food prices and shortages, high energy costs and social and health needs Between 60 and 75 percent of children under five are chronically malnourished, and up to 64 percent of the population live in poverty.