Mohana-Rajghat bridge construction in limbo for six years

DHANGADHI: The Mohana-Rajghat bridge that is being built over Mohana River in Kailali district is yet to be completed even after six years of being under construction.

Road Division Office, Mahendranagar is preparing to fine the construction company Elite Adventure JV for its negligence, and rush the construction.

The construction company has once again started the process of extension after the earlier deadline expired in mid-July, with a file already submitted at the Road Division Office for the same.

Deadline for the project has been extended once already, informed Lakshman Adhikari, information officer at Mahendranagar Road Division Office, adding, “There is no basis for the extension of the deadline again as the delay is purely due to negligence of the company.”

According to the office, the bridge could be built before the end of this fiscal year if the construction is started immediately.

Construction of the 120-metre long bridge, connecting Chatakpur of Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolis in Kailali to Krishnapur Municipality of Kanchanpur district, started in 2014 with the intention of completing it within the fiscal 2015/16. But only one span of the bridge has been built in six years, with two more yet to be completed.

The company claims that due to various unfortunate circumstances such as protests and blockade, the construction could not move ahead as planned.

The construction company is preparing to build both spans of the bridge simultaneously, informed Dinesh Batala, engineer in the company. He further added that soil-filling and transporting of other construction materials to the site have already started.

Even if the deadline is not extended, the construction of the bridge will be completed within mid-April, claimed Engineer Batala.