Preparation has been stepped up for blacktopping of the road leading to Chhimkeshwori temple at the hilltop of the Mahabharat Himlayan range in Tanahun. Preparation is being intensified for blacktopping of the road from Anbukhaireni to Labdi (bottom of Chhimkeshwori) along the Prithvi Highway. So far site cutting, drainage construction, basement works and gravelling have been completed. Site In-charge Shiva Rijal informed that 75 percent of works have been so far carried out on the road stretch as per the contract. He further shared all contractual works would be completed after blacktopping. Preparation has been made in a way to initiate blacktopping on the road from coming March 4. He said equipment would be brought from Jugedi, Chitwan to initiate blacktopping the road with 3.0 inch asphalt thickness. “We have intensified our works in a way to complete total construction within coming mid-April”, Rijal said. Earlier, 1,002-meter section of the road has already been blacktopped. Blacktopping is yet to be done in the remaining section of a total of 16-km road. It may be informed that the province government had allocated Rs 84.7 million and federal government earmarked the equal amount under the equalization grant for blacktopping. The Kathmandu-based contractor company, Sharma and Kashtamandap JV, was awarded the contract for the same. It is expected that inflow of visitors reaching the temple would increase with the completion of blacktopping of road to Chhimkeshwori, said Anbukhaireni rural municipality chair Shukra Chuman. The Chhimkeswori Goddess Temple located at Anbukhaireni rural municipality-5 is in an altitude of 2,134 metres from the sea level. The Goddess Chhimkeshwori is worshipped as the elder sister of the Gorkha Manakamana.