Construction of express ways in the hill country is not advisable due to environmental reasons, government MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera told Parliament today.
Ven. Thera, who was speaking during the debate on the second reading of the budget said express ways in the hill country could result in natural disasters. “A major disaster can happen in the event of a flood as express ways will convert hill country into a highly populated area" he said.
“An express way was built along the slopes of Kathmandu in Nepal making the area highly populated. A major flood which occurred in the area destroyed a large number of human lives" he added. “Construction of some express ways including the Central express ways had been proposed in the budget but I believe these could be amended through a dialogue" he further said. (Yohan Perera)
