Construction resumes on long-delayed motorable bridge over Dhauligad river in Darchula

Dhangadhi: Construction has begun on a motorable bridge over the Dhauligad River along the Khalanga–Gokuleshwor road section of the Mahakali Highway in Darchula, ending a 12-year period during which the project remained stalled.

The federal government has allocated a budget to complete the remaining work of the bridge. Kapil Prasad Pant, Engineer and Information Officer at the Road Division Office, Baitadi, under the Department of Roads, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Government of Nepal, informed that Rs 20 million has been allocated in the current fiscal year 2082/83 for the project.

Engineer Pant stated that construction of the left-hand pillar of the bridge is approximately 70 percent complete, and the remaining structure is yet to be built. An agreement had been signed in the fiscal year 2070/71 with Ashish Construction Company of Dhangadhi to undertake the project. However, construction was halted after landowners obstructed the work. At that time, the company had completed only one pillar on one side.

The project faced delays due to issues surrounding compensation for land at the bridge construction site in Gulfai, Mahakali Municipality-5, near the district headquarters of Khalanga. Construction was completely suspended after seven to eight landowners filed a case in the Supreme Court demanding compensation at government rates.

According to Engineer Pant, construction resumed after the landowners received compensation and access roads for the bridge site were cleared. A new agreement has been signed with the previous contractor, Ashish Construction, to complete the remaining structure by Asad 15, 2083.

Local residents have expressed that the absence of a motorable bridge over the Dhauligad River under the Mahakali Corridor has caused significant difficulties for both short- and long-distance vehicles, particularly during the rainy season.

Engineer Pant informed that the bridge will have a span of 25 meters. Lal Bahadur Chand, a representative of the construction company, said that work on the remaining structure is being carried out with the aim of completing the bridge within the stipulated timeframe.