PM Karki Urges Fast-Track Highway Construction to Respect Religious Beliefs and Cultural Heritages during construction

Kathmandu — Prime Minister Sushila Karki has stressed that road infrastructure and other development projects must proceed without harming religious beliefs or cultural heritage.

While inspecting the national pride project — the Kathmandu–Tarai/Madhes Fast Track — in Khokana, Lalitpur, she urged authorities to take local people’s concerns seriously and work toward practical solutions.

Karki said officials should be ready to adjust project alignments or even change the zero point if necessary so construction does not hurt community faith and traditions.

“The concerns of the locals should be taken seriously, and solutions must be found,” she said, adding that development must move forward without hurting people’s beliefs.

She also recommended planning adequate open spaces during construction of physical structures, noting that such areas are essential for natural disasters, festivals, public gatherings, and everyday movement — and that developers should avoid building over open land without planning space first.

During the inspection, Army Chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel and the project chief, Major General Dharmendra Jha, updated the prime minister on the progress, challenges, and future work of the expressway project.

Karki’s inspection team included the ministers of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Foreign Affairs, along with senior government officials.