सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Ramechhap. The work of the concrete bridge under construction at Kolanjor Ghat in the district has not been completed. This bridge, which is the ‘lifeline’ of Ramechhap, has not been completed due to the negligence of the contractor.
This bridge under construction on the Sunkoshi River at Kolanjor Ghat in Rampur, Ramechhap Municipality, to connect Ramechhap to the Mid-Hill Highway, should have been completed four years ago. Since then, despite continuous extensions, the construction has not been completed. The deadline for the bridge, which was supposed to be completed in BS 2077, has been extended to Chaitra 20, 2081. With one month left before the deadline, the remaining work has not started.
Ramechhap Municipality Mayor Lavashree Neupane said that although they have been urging for the construction of the bridge, the businessmen have not shown interest. She said, “I have approached various government agencies many times to get this bridge completed quickly, but the work has not started yet. It is only a month after the last extended deadline, but the work has not started yet. This has created more problems.”
The Bridge Sector Project of the Road Department had awarded the contract for the bridge in 2074 BS. The construction of this bridge, named Shankar Khola Dobhan Bridge Project, was started through the ‘design and build’ process. Anak Mahavir JV was given the responsibility of constructing the bridge. A contract was signed for the construction of a 190-meter-long concrete bridge for Rs 236.867,350 (including VAT).
This bridge connects Fikkal Rural Municipality of Sindhuli and Ramechhap Municipality of Ramechhap along the Mid-Pahadi Highway. The slab slope work of this bridge has been completed, but the work of the retaining wall and railings that need to be installed near the approach road bridge to the bridge is still pending. Local Komal Shrestha said that they are facing a lot of problems due to the bridge not being built on time. “This bridge was said to be built four years ago, but it has not been built yet. Everyone is saying that the contractor was negligent. Does that give them immunity?” “We should get the work done now, considering the suffering we are facing,” he said.
Netra Bilash Poudel, engineer of the Road Department, Bridge Project Sector, said that despite repeated verbal and written requests from the office to proceed with the bridge work, the construction business is failing. He said, “If the construction business works continuously, the entire work of the bridge can be completed within two months at most, but they say we will complete it soon but do not send workers to the side.”
The Sunkoshi River bridge connecting Okhaldhunga, whose work began along with that bridge, has already been completed and is operational. Although the federal government and the provincial government are giving high priority to the construction of the road that will reach Gumdel in Ramechhap via the Likhu Corridor, this bridge has not yet been operational, so the target has not been achieved. Currently, transportation is being operated via BP Highway to places such as Khurkot in Sindhuli, Manthali in Ramechhap, Khiji Phalate, Gamnang, Ghorakhori in Okhaldhunga, and others.
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