Four-year delay in completion of 55-meter road in Bhajani, Kailali

Kailali: A 55-meter-long road in Bhajani Municipality of Kailali, which was scheduled for construction in the fiscal year 2079/80, remains incomplete even after four years.

The road, linking Padaria Chowk in Ward No. 3 to the Thekipur Postal Highway, was to be constructed with a supplementary grant from the Sudurpaschim Province Government. As per the agreement, the project was to be completed by Ashar 2080. However, the deadline for the four-lane road has been extended four times, with the latest extension set until Ashar 15 of the current fiscal year. The project was jointly funded, with Rs 6.6 million each allocated by the provincial government and the local level. The provincial grant was eventually returned after the work failed to progress.

Municipality engineer Ajay Dagaura stated that despite repeated requests to the construction company, the work has not been carried out. He added that although the executive extended the deadline multiple times, no action has been initiated against the contractor, and the latest extension has been declared the final one. The contract for the road construction was awarded to Kafali Construction. The municipality has allocated Rs 1.7 million from its own resources in the current fiscal year. Engineer Dagaura also noted that the construction company has not been in contact with the municipality.

Shankar Sharma, director of Kafli Construction, said that although his company secured the contract, the work had been assigned to a third party, Gyanulabh, who failed to carry it out. He stated that he would personally begin the work within a week.

Similarly, the blacktopping of a separate 130-meter four-lane road connecting Bhajani Municipality-3 to Bhajani Bazaar via Thekipur under the Postal Highway has also remained incomplete. This project was funded with Rs 5 million each from the federal and local governments. B&B Construction was awarded the contract on 24 Jestha 2081 BS.

After the contract expired on 20 Asad 2082 BS, the federal grant could not be fully utilized. The municipality then allocated Rs 1.1 million from its own resources and extended the deadline to complete the work by Mangsir of the same year, followed by another extension in Poush. Despite these extensions, the construction work has yet to be completed.