A temporary wooden bridge was built there last December after the suspension bridge was swept away in the great flood. However, it was swept away around a month ago. After that, locals had been relying on cable contraption to cross the river. But Indian authorities have halted movement through cable contraption citing security reasons.At present, there is no means to cross the river. Hence, locals of Uku, Lali, Dadakot, Kharkada and Shankarpur VDC have been facing a lot of difficulty.
"Indian authorities halted ropeway operation citing security reasons," said Lal Bahadur Chand of Uku-6. "They wrote a letter to the VDC saying the governments of the two countries have not signed any agreement to operate the ropeway."
Although passage has been cleared for road construction till Datu, vehicles have not yet been able to operate on the road.
Locals have demanded that the authorities should either begin road transport services or allow the ropeway to operate. The locals obstructed vehicular movement in Beth of Datu VDC for four hours on Tuesday to press the local authorities to address their demands.
Bashu Dev Pant, a local social worker, informed that small jeeps have not been operating on the highway since the onset of monsoon. "As a result the VDCs have already started facing shortage of food and other daily necessities," he said.
MK Constructions, the contracting company responsible for building the suspension bridge, have not started their works although the tender contract has been signed. "The delay is solely due to the negligence of the construction company," said a local, Gopal Singh Dhami. "Although they signed agreements a year ago, they have yet to start working. There is no one to monitor their works."
Photo caption: Wooden suspension bridge at Uku VDC. The temporary bridge turned useless following the recent flood.
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