सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Tanahun. A month-long festival is underway at the famous religious site of Devghat Dham. The arrival of devotees is increasing as the festival begins. Due to the increase in the crowd, devotees have been forced to travel through the dilapidated suspension bridge.
The suspension bridge over the Trishuli River connecting Devghat Rural Municipality in Tanahun and Bharatpur Metropolitan City in Chitwan is facing problems and devotees are forced to travel at risk. Due to the risk of the bridge collapsing due to the large crowd, a limit has been set for movement.
Locals say that the specified limit is being crossed due to the crowd of devotees. To minimize the risk, the local administration has allowed only 100 people to travel at a time. Due to the large crowd, it has been difficult to implement the permission. Police have been deployed on both sides of the bridge to avoid risks.
A notice issued by the District Administration Office states that the 44-year-old suspension bridge on the Trishuli River has been restricted due to the increased number of pilgrims. All stakeholders, including the District Police Office, have been instructed to ensure that only 100 people can cross the bridge at a time and that motorcycles are completely banned.
The Suspension Bridge Division, Pulchowk, Lalitpur, sent a letter to the District Administration Office on Monday requesting that all precautionary measures be taken on the bridge for the safety of the bridge and general passengers. Due to the lack of a motorable bridge at that location, devotees are still forced to travel via a suspension bridge.
Although the demand for a motorable bridge has been raised for years, the lack of response has created problems during times of increased devotees, said Til Bahadur Thapa, chairman of Devghat Rural Municipality in Tanahun. He said that the travel on the dilapidated suspension bridge, which used to cause problems only during the Maghe Sankranti fair, has now become even more risky.
‘Devghatdham is a place where Hindu devotees come to visit, and there is a need for a motorable bridge at the place where the suspension bridge is located for ease,’ said Chairman Thapa. ‘We have repeatedly requested the relevant bodies to construct a motorable bridge at this place so that unthinkable incidents do not happen, but our demands have not been heard.’ He said that even though the municipality alone does not have the budget to construct the bridge here, we have been requesting the provincial and federal governments, but they have been ignored.
There are motorable bridges on the Dasdhunga, Thimura and Nawalpur sides of Chitwan. But devotees who come for darshan without their own vehicles are forced to travel via the risky suspension bridge due to the detour. The bridge was built in 2037 BS. It is being repaired and put into operation when the movement of devotees increases. However, the government has not paid attention to a long-term solution to the problem.
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