DOLPA, Dec 9: The construction of a motorable bridge along the Rupagadh River in Thulibheri Municipality-8, which kicked off three years ago, has remained stalled.
The construction work started in 2016 with a budget of Rs. 30 million sanctioned by the District Development Committee (DDC) and under the supervision of the District Technical Office. As both these offices have been scrapped following the introduction of the federal setup, confusion over who is to take over responsibility for the bridge construction has further delayed the project .
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In 2016, Gauri Upreti, proprietor of Sanjeevani Construction Pvt. Ltd., had assigned the project to Him Budha of the same district, with a completion deadline of one year. The deadline expired in April and has since been extended thrice .
Sher Bahadur Budha, chief of the District Coordination Committee (DCC), informed that a survey is being conducted for the design of the bridge as the previous design was not satisfactory. The government has warned the construction companies involved that stern action will be taken if the work is substandard or is left only half complete. However, the local contractors seem to be taking this warning lightly.
In lack of a proper bridge, vehicles entering district headquarters use a perilous wooden bridge . Him Budha claims that he has not yet received the money for the work they have already done. According to sources, the construction company had already received Rs. 27 million from the then DDC.
Budha says the money provided by the DDC was spent procuring construction material for the two pillars of the bridge. Meanwhile, Birendra Lama, an engineer in Karnali province who has observe the work on the bridge, says the construction is slow but satisfactory.According to Lama, the project will speed up in a few months after workers are arranged.Caption: The under construction motorable bridge along the Rupagadh River of Dolpa.
