The army, however, has stated that it would take a few days more for vehicles to ply on the track as it is yet to finish the building of gabion walls. [break]
"We have already finished the most strenuous portion of the track that runs through two cliffs," NA engineer Colonel Ram Dhar Singh said. "We will finish the building of gabion walls by next week." With the gabion walls completed, according to Singh, vehicles are expected to ply on the track.
NA had started digging the track on December 16, 2009. Before the army took charge, PR Construction was awarded a contract to open the track. But PR had not made any progress, citing various reasons including political upheavals.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 5, 2009, had given the task of opening the track to NA, concluding that the whole project was delayed due to slow progress in the opening of the track. However, NA could not start its work immediately after the cabinet´s decision since PR filed a case in the court.
According to Pushkar Nath Bhattarai, assistant manager of UTHEP, the completion of the track construction has paved the way for building two bridges ahead. "The feat that NA achieved by opening the track has dispelled all uncertainties hovering over the future of the project," he said.
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