Work on a suspension bridge under construction on the Kandra River stalled for 7 years

Bhajani: Work on a suspension bridge under construction on the Kandra River in Kailali has stalled. The construction work of the suspension bridge, which started two years ago, has not been completed yet.

Work on two suspension bridges connecting Milanpur-Jawarpur and Kanaiyapur-Kawakheda of Bhajani Municipality has been stalled. As there is no single bridge on the Kandra river in Bhajani, the area's locals are suffering. The work of the concrete bridge of the postal road being constructed in the same area has not been able to move forward for the past seven years.

Due to the lack of bridges, all the locals of Ward No. 5 of Bhajani Municipality are forced to take a risky boat trip. The flow of water in the river has also increased due to the rainy season. Ratan Raj Regmi, chairman of the local and suspension bridge construction consumer committee, said that people are forced to take risky boat trips due to the untimely construction of the bridge.

"The company has delayed the completion of the work so far," he said. Stakeholders are saddened by the delay in the construction of two bridges being constructed with the help of the federal and local governments. They have complained that the Bhajani Municipality has not shown any interest in the construction of the bridge despite repeated requests from the locals.

The municipality is also blaming the steel company for not providing the construction material on time. Engineer Anesh Shrestha of Bhajani Municipality said that the contract was delayed by the steel company. "There is a problem in completing the work on time due to the negligence of the company," he said. "The steel company has claimed that all the goods will be made available by the 20th of this month."

The Rizwan Engineering Industry of Nepalgunj, which has taken charge of steel parts and other materials to be provided at the local level budget of Rs 4.2 million, has been delaying on the pretext of the ban. Sirodh Khan, the operator of the industry, claims that some goods have already been sent and the rest will be delivered within this month. "We have a problem with delivery because of the lockdown," he said. "We also have a weakness, but we will deliver within a month."