Construction of bridge in limbo since four years

PARBAT, September 16: The construction of a motorable bridge on the Kaligandaki highway, a national pride project, has been stalled for the last four years. 

The bridge construction over the Lamay Khola river is lying idle due to the negligence of the construction company and faulty design. The bridge connects Devisthan, Ward No 6 of Phalebas Municipality and Kurgha, Ward No 10 of same municipality.

Although the track of the roadway has been constructed from Mirmi of Syangja to Modibeni of Parbat district, the Kaligandaki Corridor section of the highway is incomplete due to the lack of bridge over the Lamay Khola river. 

It is said the under-construction motorable bridge is in limbo due to the faulty design on the part of the engineer.

The 25-metre-long bridge is being constructed at a cost of Rs 56.4 million. Nayabato Gauchan JV has been awarded the contract for constructing the bridge. The construction company had sub-contracted it to petty contractor. 

The design of the bridge was prepared by the engineer of the Kaligandaki corridor project. As per this design, the bridge was to be constructed with large rock at each end of the bridge as the base. The locals had opposed this design. However, the project engineer awarded the contract without correcting the 'faulty design'.

The contract for the construction of the bridge was awarded to Nayabato Gauchan JV in 2018. The contractor company had said at the time that the bridge would be completed within three years. 

Meanwhile, Chief of Kaligandaki highway project Subodh Kumar Devkota said preparations are on to restart the bridge construction according to new design. He said construction works on the bridge would start within few months.

The main contractor is out of contact at present after subcontracting the bridge construction to a petty contractor. The construction of the bridge has not progressed further after this.