GORKHA, Oct 18: Vehicular traffic on the Barpak-Laprak road, previously disrupted for three months due to landslides, resumed on Wednesday.
The road that got damaged at various places due to landslides caused by rains resumed since Tuesday, said Ganesh Subedi, chief of the Road Infrastructure Development Office, Gorkha.
Following the removal of debris with the help of a JCV bulldozer for seven to eight days, the blocked road has been opened for traffic, he said. The blocked road had affected local people in many ways including making it difficult to supply daily essentials to Laprak.
Vehicular movement along Jaya Prithvi Highway resumes
As a result, local people were forced to carry heavy loads of food to Laprak and surrounding settlements even during festivals. The contractor has been accused of a delay in completing the upgrading works of the Barpak-Laprak, thus affecting the local people.
The road upgrade was contracted on May 22, 2020 with the completion deadline being two years. But 41 months into the commencement of the road upgradation, the project has seen only 52 percent work, said Subedi. The Sharma Bikki JV had bagged the contract.
As the project did not complete within the deadline, the project deadline had been extended until 2 June, 2024. The office had signed a contract for the upgradation of 13.14 kilometers of the road for over Rs 341 million.
(RSS)
