JANAKPURDHAM: Construction work on cross-border Jaynagar-Janakpur railway, connecting Nepal and India, has come to a halt following a dispute between construction material suppliers.

The railway service which came to a complete halt three years ago for want of repair was expected to resume operations in October 2018. However, recent obstruction has raised suspicions over timely completion of the project.

Ircon International, an Indian government undertaking, which is overseeing the construction works, was laying railway tracks on the Jaynagar-Janakpur stretch before a dispute between gravel and stone suppliers brought the works to a halt.

The Indian Railway Protection force has prohibited the suppliers, Pramod Singh and Mahesh Singh, after they filed a case against each other.

Icron had outsourced supply of gravel-stones to Navneet Construction which handed over the task to the Singh duo.

“Navneet Construction Company had assigned me the work under credit provision of IRs 320,000,” Pramod Singh said. “The company is yet to pay me the due amount and it cannot assign the task to Mahesh Singh without settling its credit.”

On the other hand, Mahesh Singh has filed a case against Pramod accusing the latter of seeking ransom and passing threats forcing the railway police to temporarily halt the supply until further notice.

“We are working actively to resume railway service within the stipulated time,” Project Director Ravi Sahay said. “But obstructions like these might delay the project. Nonetheless, we are working to end the dispute and resume works soon.”