Gabion Wall Collapses Before Completion in Khotang

Khotang. A gabion wall (retaining wall with wire mesh) under construction on the Diktel-Chakhewabhanjyang road section of the Mid-Hilly Highway has collapsed before completion in Mamkha. The gabion wall being constructed in Mamkha, Nerpa, Ward No. 6 of Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality, has collapsed for the second time before its completion.

Locals said that the gabion wall, built under the 'Highway Improvement Works' plan by the Diktel Division Office Harka, started collapsing on Jestha 15. The construction company, Dobhan Nirman Sewa Dhankuta, stated that the wall collapsed in its middle part before completion, even though the work was in its final stages.

The contractor company stated that the wall, which had been built up to the road level by filling the wire mesh, collapsed before the soil filling and leveling work on top was completed. Locals have been saying that the long-term problem can only be solved by cutting the rock on the side of the wall in Mamkha and widening the road.

After the collapse of the gabion wall of the road, houses in the settlements below have come under the risk of landslides. The houses of locals Bhimraj Rai, Devendra Rai, Harkeman Rai, Lokendra Rai, Hemraj Rai, and Narbahadur Rai are at risk of landslides.

After the gabion wall collapsed, even the cornfields below it have cracked. Some have accused the contractor of building the wall without finding a strong foundation, while others have attributed the collapse to the weak geological structure.

The RCC wall built at the same location during the blacktopping phase of the Diktel-Chakhewabhanjyang road had also collapsed. After the RCC wall tilted and fell below the road, the road has been left narrow at that spot.

A team led by Sabin Joshi, Senior Division Engineer of the Diktel Division Office Harka, inspected Mamkha after the gabion wall of the road collapsed in Mamkha, where the road had been left incomplete for a long time after being blacktopped. The contractor company has stated that the construction work will resume only after the technical team's report on the collapsed wall in Mamkha is received.

Engineer Joshi commented that the under-construction wall appears to have collapsed due to the weak geological structure. "The case in Mamkha is a bit different. No fault of the contractor working there has been found," he said. "We are consulting with relevant experts on this matter. We are preparing to proceed with the process only after determining what will solve the long-term problem."

Dobhan Nirman Sewa had a contract agreement on Mangsir 4, 2082 BS, to complete the work by Baishakh 6, 2082 BS. However, the Diktel Division Office Harka stated that the deadline has been extended until Ashad 15 due to the work not being completed.

The Diktel Division Office stated that the contract for various works including gabion walls and plum walls at different places along the Diktel-Chakhewabhanjyang road section was awarded for Rs 2 crore 79 lakh 77 thousand 912.

Construction work has stalled after the gabion wall under construction in Mamkha collapsed in its final stages. The concrete bridge under construction at Panku River on the Diktel-Chakhewabhanjyang road section is also stranded. Due to the lack of a concrete bridge, transportation services are disrupted during the rainy season at Panku River, and workers associated with the Shram Sanskriti Party have constructed a wooden bridge.

Dhanprasad Rai, the party chairman of Buwalung, informed that a wooden bridge was constructed to allow motorcycles and autos to cross, as patients and students are most affected by the lack of a concrete bridge at Panku River.

Locals said that the wooden bridge, constructed by laborers in three days, has made commuting easier. Extreme negligence by the contractor company has been observed in the blacktopping of 10 kilometers of the Sekhuwa section of the Diktel-Chakhewabhanjyang road section.

This road, contracted on Chaitra 2, 2072 BS by Bharat Construction-Mainachuli-Siddhishahi JV for Rs 32 crore, with a completion deadline of Falgun 30, 2075 BS, is currently in a stranded state.