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In a novel initiative, a Nepali airline has launched an aerial tour of the revered Mt Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in Tibet, China.

The Kailash-Mansarovar region is an important pilgrimage site for Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains. More than 20,000 Indian pilgrims were taking spiritual journeys to the Kailash region before Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. They were utilizing routes like Nepalgunj-Hilsa-Taklakot and Rasuwagadhi-Kerung-Mansarovar to reach Mt Kailash.

However, since the pandemic, Chinese authorities have prohibited Indian nationals from visiting the Kailash-Mansarovar region. Despite these restrictions, some have continued their devotions from the Nepali territory, specifically from Lapcha Pass located approximately 150 kilometers from the district headquarters of Simkot in Humla.

Before the pandemic, around 12,000 Indian pilgrims were taking the Nepalgunj-Hilsa-Taklakot route. They would take a flight to Simkot and then board a chopper to the Nepal-India border village of Hilsa. From there, after completing border formalities, they continued their journey to the Kailash region via road. The Rasuwagadhi and Kodari routes served as the two surface options to reach the sacred destination. However, the Kodari route became inactive after the 2015 earthquakes. Around 15,000 Indian nationals had been using the Rasuwagadhi route until 2019.

The new flight service offers a unique opportunity for visitors to offer prayers to Mt Kailash and Lake Mansarovar right from the comfort of their aircraft seats. Bikas Mishra, the managing director of the Indian travel company ‘Trip to Temple’ said Indian nationals were very happy to see the sacred sites.

Indira Bajrachaman, a tourist from Karnataka, India, described the experience of having the direct darshan (view) of Kailash Mansarovar from her aircraft seat as the greatest privilege of her life.

Senior Captain Prafull Baidya of Shree Air, the airline operating the flight, said that a group of Indian nationals had the unique opportunity to see Mt Kailash and Lake Mansarovar from an altitude of 22,028 feet above Limi village during the one-hour and fifteen-minute flight.

A team from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), including Suresh Khanal, Chief of Civil Aviation Office in Nepalgunj, were also in the flight. Rochesh Saxena, an Indian tourist, considered himself lucky to witness Mt Kailash Parbat and Lake Mansarovar in a single frame during the brief flight. Abhinav Tripathi, a priest from Varanasi, recited sacred scriptures inside the aircraft.

Mt Kailash is revered as the abode of Lord Shiva, and it is believed that Lord Shiva, along with his family, resides there. Devotees perform circumambulation of Mt Kailash, believing that it cleanses their sins and helps them attain virtues.

Keshab Neupane, director of Siddharth Business Group of Hospitality, said the flight has opened new possibilities for tourism in Nepalgunj. Likewise, Upendra Shrestha, the station manager of Shree Airlines at Nepalgunj Airport, expressed readiness to operate the flight based on demand from travel agencies and tourists.

Mahesh Gautam, managing director of Pathhill Holidays Kathmandu, the official travel company for the chartered flight, said they have received enthusiastic bookings and positive responses for the flight. Tourism stakeholders say the flight is cost-effective and hassle-free as it offers visitors the aerial tour of Kailash-Mansarovar region for just InRs 50,000 without the need for a passport, visa application, health tests, and an extended stay, Mishra said.

A bridge project in Bardiya district that began with much fanfare and lofty ambitions has devolved into a protracted tale of unrealized promises, tales of corruption and legal entanglements. The construction of Jabdighat bridge spanning the Babai river was initiated in 2011 to forge a vital link between Bardiya’s northern realms, including the town of Barbardiya, and the district headquarters, Gualriya. The 400-meter structure was slated for completion within three years. However, bureaucratic roadblocks and logistical hitches elongated the timeline by an additional two years, foreshadowing the tumultuous path that lay ahead.

Dismay turned into despair when, shortly before its anticipated inauguration, the Rs 190m bridge buckled and crumbled. Local residents, whose hopes had been kindled by the promise of enhanced connectivity with the bridge completion, were devastated. 

Fingers were pointed squarely at the contractor, design consultant, and the Road Division Office, all implicated in what can only be described as a fiasco of monumental proportions.

Leapfrogging through 12 years, the denizens of Barbardiya and its vicinity continue to traverse the Babai’s waters through boats and ephemeral wooden crossings. Their dream of cruising to Gulariya in vehicular comfort remains suspended, forever unmaterialized. The forsaken edifice of the Jabdighat bridge, a stark monument to both graft and ineptitude, underscores the blight infesting Nepal’s construction sector.
Nearly seven years following the bridge’s collapse, a glimmer of accountability emerged. On May 8, 2022, the Special Court issued a verdict ordering the contractor, Pappu Construction Pvt Ltd, to pay a fine of Rs 37.2m. Simultaneously, Bhanu Joshi, Manoj Shrestha, Rajesh Kumar Yadav, Navaraj KC, Hari Bahadur Khadka, and Karma Tenzin Tamang from the Nepalgunj-based Road Division Office were found culpable for diverging from approved plans, designs, and specifications. Their sentences ranged from six to eight months, accompanied by fines ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000.

Yet, justice’s path remains labyrinthine. The defendants contested the Special Court’s ruling at the Supreme Court. The verdict remains a distant horizon.

The saga took an interesting turn when Sanjay Gautam, federal parliament member from Bardiya, embarked on a hunger strike beneath the remains of the Jabdighat bridge on May 13 of this year. His demand: the immediate resurrection of the collapsed structure. Succumbing to public pressure, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala visited Gautam and pledged in writing to initiate a tender process for the bridge reconstruction within a week.  
However, even this pledge struggled to evade bureaucratic entanglements, resulting in further stasis. As three months have quietly slipped by, Minister Jwala’s promise has languished unfulfilled. “Even the solemn commitment of a government minister is not implemented,” bemoans Gautam, who now plans to take up the matter directly to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.  
Janak Dhami, the information officer at the Road Division Office, Nepalgunj, underscores the delays that have plagued the bridge’s resurrection. The crux of the issue: the Ministry of Finance’s failure to greenlight the necessary budgetary allocations.

The tale of the Jabdighat bridge underscores not only the intricacies of infrastructure development but also the necessity for effective governance, unswerving execution, and vigilant oversight. 

Niraj Shakya, chief of the Road Division Office, Nepalgunj, confesses that until the court proceedings conclude, the bridge’s repair remains a distant prospect. 

“We are now planning to initiate a new bridge project at Jabdighat itself. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 950m.”  

The lesson here is unambiguous: the Jabdighat Bridge shows the broader interplay between aspiration and reality in infrastructure. It demands a fusion of dedication, sagacity and watchfulness to bridge the gap between intent and achievement.