N°352-353Content

Nepal is situated in a geographical zone at very high risk of earthquakes. The down-cutting of rivers and steepening of slopes are common features. The monsoon rains further give rise to weathering rates and saturation during which most of the landslides and erosion take place. Roads have been constructed in Nepal over the past 50 years since the opening of the first road link to Kathmandu the capital city from India in 1956. Now the Strategic Road Network (SRN) has reached to a magnitude of more than 10,000 kilometers. The SRN is a fundamental contributor to the improvement of accessibility in the remote areas of Nepal and allows the development of local networks within individual districts. A considerable expansion of the local rural road network has occurred over the past 10 years with a large number of local participation.