TIKAPUR, June 3: The locals of Tikapur Municipality have expressed doubts regarding the quality of the six-lane road being constructed from Jamarapul to the bus park of the municipality. 

The project took off on Sunday with an estimated cost of Rs 20 million for the completion of the 2.3 kilometers road.

Raman KS JV has undertaken the project with the intent to finish the work within two years. The locals, however, are doubtful about the standard of the road due to the use of soil with sand particles for the road construction which they suspect will make the road fragile.

The construction company is accused of leaving out vital lab tests of the locality's soil which is a pre-requisite for the project. 

The initial process of laying of the soil and flattening the base in order to lay the ground for construction have been completed without conducting adequate tests. 

“The sandy soil poses great threat and creates doubt regarding the road's durability,” said Shiva Dutta Upreti, a local of the area. 

Engineer Trilok Joshi of the Federal Project Implementation Unit (FPIU), Kailali also confirmed the construction company's failure to conduct lab tests. He also notified that all construction companies are required to run lab tests twice for any project – before the initiation and after completion. 

“The road construction can begin only after proper lab testing but that did not happen,” said engineer Joshi. 

The contractors are also accused of not publishing a single public notice regarding the project.

The locals have also complained of not having witnessed a single official monitoring the construction site. However, engineer Joshi said that an investigative team has been sent to the project site. 

Tikapur's Mayor Tapendra Bahadur Rawal said he is carefully monitoring the project although the municipality has the rights to only coordinate with different projects. 

Mayor Rawal hence confirmed his inability to act as an authoritative investigative body. “This is a collaborative project so we cannot investigate upon it. But we will try our best to do what we can,” Rawal said. 

The construction company's local representative Janak Shahi could not be reached when tried to contact him to know their view. He is said of handling the entire project under the name of Raman KS JV.

 
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