BAJHANG, May 18: As the Seti River washed away the wooden bridge connecting Durgathali and Thalara rural municipalities, vehicular movement has been obstructed in the region.

No vehicles have been able to move out of Thalara Municipality after the bridge was swept away by the river. According to Jhak Saud of Thalara-4, vehicles had made it easier for them to reach the market and also to the district headquarters Chainpur for various purposes. But the destruction of the bridge has brought their life back to the same same old routine. 

With the halt in transportation, local shopkeepers have hiked the prices of food and other materials adding to the woes of the locals. As informed by Saud, until a few days ago, the price of 50 kg of rice was Rs 1,800 in Kholi Bazaar but that has now jumped to Rs 2,300. 

"This has been a boon for some people but it has only increased the burden of debt for poor people like us," he said, adding, "If the bridge is reconstructed soon, we can purchase goods at cheaper prices." 

It has been a trouble for the students of grade 11 who are currently appearing for their board exams. Earlier, the students could reach Bhairab Higher Secondary School (BHSS) of Jhota in 25 minutes but now they have to walk for one hour to reach there, according to Sarita Gurung, one of the students of the school. "We could have rented a room but it's hard to find rooms at first and living in rented room is still a challenge for girls," she said.

They would not have to go through this ordeal if they had transportation facility. The rural municipality had spent around Rs 1 million for the construction of the bridge but that was swept by the river just two months after its construction. 

According to Bhuwaneshwar Upadhyay, chairperson of Thalara, this bridge was brought as an immediate relief and it was sure to be washed away in the monsoon. "If we had made the bridge a bit taller, maybe we wouldn't have had to deal with this problem so soon," Upadhyay said. He further informed that efforts are underway to construct another bridge.

 
• seti
 
• river
 
• washes
 
• away
 
• bridge