Sarlahi: A total of 11,577 trees will be felled across Sarlahi, Mahottari, and Dhanusha districts to facilitate the long-delayed expansion of the East–West Highway.

With the approval process for tree cutting finally completed, the removal of trees along the Kamala–Dhalkebar–Pathlaiya road section is moving forward. Among the three districts, Mahottari will see the highest loss—6,027 trees—followed by 3,674 in Sarlahi and 1,876 in Dhanusha. Most of the trees marked for felling are of the Sal species.

Tree cutting has already begun in Sarlahi and Dhanusha, while Mahottari awaits the completion of remaining technical procedures, expected within a few days. After felling the trees, the contractor will store the logs and hand them over to the respective Division Forest Office for auction.

Despite receiving permission to remove trees, the project faces delays due to the slow relocation of electricity poles and water pipelines, said Project Chief Rajesh Kumar Das. In several areas, the expansion work has been obstructed because these structures have not yet been shifted.

The project involves expanding approximately 130 kilometers of roadway from the Kamala Bridge to Pathlaiya. The eastern (Sarlahi, Mahottari, Dhanusha) and western (Rautahat, Bara) sections are being overseen by separate offices.

As planned, the current two-lane highway will be widened to 31 meters with six lanes in market areas and 18 meters with four lanes in other stretches. The World Bank has provided Rs 18.6 billion in loan assistance for the project.