West Surkhet Road Construction Delayed, Citizens Face Hardship

Surkhet. Citizens have been facing hardship due to the non-construction of the Baddichaur-Biureni-Khambagade road connecting Barahatal Rural Municipality, Panchapuri Municipality, and Chaukune Rural Municipality in West Surkhet. For about four years, more than 75,000 citizens of three municipalities in West Surkhet have been enduring difficult journeys due to the lack of road construction.

The construction service, Anac/Jayadevi JV, which took responsibility for the construction of the said road, has been delaying the work even after four years, forcing citizens to walk through dust in winter and mud in the rainy season.

The Infrastructure Development Directorate, Surkhet's acting director, Suryabahadur Shahi, informed that the construction company took the responsibility of blacktopping the 13-kilometer Baddichaur-Biureni-Khambagade road within two years in the fiscal year 2078/79.

"The physical progress on the road, which costs Rs 42 crore including VAT, is 40 percent and the financial progress is 32.2 percent so far," said Director Shahi, "As the construction has not been completed within the stipulated time, citizens from the three municipalities here have been coming to the directorate to complain." He stated that the movement of citizens here has become complicated due to the negligence of the concerned construction entrepreneur.

Although the deadline was extended once due to the construction company not completing the work within the stipulated time, after failing to complete the work within the extended deadline, Director Shahi said that all stakeholders are now being taken to the site to observe the road and pressured to work.

According to him, although the project was affected by administrative and technical delays such as land acquisition approval, tree cutting, electricity line management, and decision-making processes by the federal government, in recent times, the company has not been able to speed up the work.

Director Shahi stated that preparations are underway to extend the deadline for completing the work by the end of Chaitra in the upcoming fiscal year 2083/84, and warned that if the work is not completed within the stipulated time, legal action will be initiated.

Shankar Rawat, an authorized representative of Anac/Jayadevi JV construction service, said that although the work was halted initially due to complexities such as tree cutting, land acquisition, and electricity line management, it has now become easier and the work will not stop. He requested the government to pay attention to this and understand the difficulties of the entrepreneurs, as fuel has become expensive and difficult to obtain due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Representative Raut expressed commitment that the road construction will be completed by the end of this Jestha, allowing for smooth movement of both vehicles and people, and that the upcoming monsoon will not cause obstruction. He urged the local representatives and the provincial government to facilitate the provision of fuel for operating the equipment, as only 600 liters of oil are available daily when 2,000 liters are needed.

Chaukune Rural Municipality Chairman Khadga Bishwakarma expressed anger that the people of West Surkhet have suffered greatly due to the construction entrepreneur, warning that if the work is not completed on time, the entrepreneur will have to bear the cost of both life and property.

Panchapuri Municipality Chief Lal Bahadur Bhandari suggested not to make excuses for continuing the work, as there are no obstacles at present.

Barahatal Rural Municipality Vice-chairperson Laxmi Pun Magar said that the local representatives have had to bear the blame for not being able to build a 13-kilometer road in four years. She complained that the people here have had to endure mud and dust due to the extreme negligence of the construction entrepreneur in an important task like road construction.

District Coordination Committee Chief Gangaram Sunar said that it is the construction company's weakness that they could not work even after removing all obstacles to road construction through decisions made by the provincial government, chief district officer, and local levels.

He expressed commitment to facilitate the provision of necessary fuel for the company's equipment to operate, stating that there is no room for excuses for the construction entrepreneur anymore.