सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Bhadrapur (Jhapa). The construction of the Kankai Bridge, which connects Jhapa Rural Municipality Ward No. 2 and Gauriganj Rural Municipality Ward No. 1, located in the eastern section of the Postal Highway, has been stalled for the past 13 years. The local residents have been suffering since the bridge, which was agreed to be built in 2068 BS, has not been built yet.
Had this bridge been completed, transportation between Jhapa district and the Koshi province capital, Biratnagar, would have been easier. The lack of completion of this bridge has also affected the trade, business and tourism promotion of this area. According to the Postal Highway Directorate, Planning Office, Itahari, on 30 Jestha 2068 BS, a contract was awarded to the construction company to complete the construction within four years. Although the deadline for completion of the work was set for 29 Jestha 2072, 58 percent of the bridge has been physically completed so far.
Engineer Prabhat Kiran Rai, who is also the office’s information officer, informed that despite five extensions of the contract period, the construction has not accelerated. According to him, the fifth extension expired in Ashar 2080 BS. After technical errors were found in the construction work of the bridge, an expert team from Pulchowk Engineering Campus has studied it and submitted a report with suggestions at the request of the office.
Despite repeated instructions to resolve the problems seen in the report and proceed with the work, the construction company has not started the work, Engineer Rai said. According to him, if the work is still reluctant to start, preparations are being made to cancel the contract and proceed with a new process. Koshi Provincial Assembly member Lakhikumari Ganesh from the same area said that despite repeated initiatives to the Chief Minister, construction entrepreneurs and other relevant sectors, no one listened to the issue.
“It is understood that the work has been stopped now because the bridge construction work has not been done as per the cost estimate,” he said. “Since it will take a lot of time to stop the current contract process and proceed with the contract process again, the bridge construction should be completed by getting the work done as per the old cost estimate.”
In the past 13 years, many governments have been formed, Prime Ministers have been appointed, and ministers have been appointed, but Tanka Prasad Shrestha, a local from Gauriganj-1, expressed his sadness that the bridge construction work that should have been completed in four years has not been completed yet. The construction company has now removed its goods from the bridge construction area, and now the hope that the Kankai Bridge will be completed and people will be able to travel on the bridge is gone, said Shrestha.
Jhapa Rural Municipality Ward No. 2 Ward Chairman Himal Kumar Chamlagain said that he does not know why the construction of the bridge has been stopped for the past one year. “Despite repeated requests to the concerned bodies to complete the construction of this bridge, no response has been received,” he said. “If this bridge is built quickly on the Postal Road, which is used by thousands of people daily, the service recipients will benefit immensely.”
Since the construction of the bridge over the Kankai River has not been completed for a long time, people traveling from here are forced to travel at their own risk. Ward Chairman Kartiklal Rajbanshi of Ward No. 1 said that Gauriganj Rural Municipality has awarded a contract for boat operation during the rainy season for Rs 230,000. According to him, the person who took the contract is constructing a bamboo bridge on his own initiative during the winter season to allow motorcycles and pedestrians to cross.
According to Ishwar Majhi, who took the said contract, the bridge built to cross the Kankai River costs Rs 50 for motorcycles and Rs 20 for pedestrians.
Majhi said that the bridge is being constructed to make travel easier and is providing services. Pedestrians and motorcyclists traveling on this road have been protesting against the charge. Rajbanshi, the chairman of Gaurigunj-1, said that the rural municipality is in talks to make travel on the left bridge free of charge as the protests continue.
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