Key Takeaways:

• 165-metre bridge estimated at Rs400m, inaugurated Oct 2022 by Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav
• Project promised completion in two years, but construction has not begun
• Khamuwa–Madhuvan bridge, inaugurated the same day, has since been completed
• Locals allege project was used for electoral publicity ahead of 2022 polls

BARA, AUGUST 12 Nearly four years after its foundation stone was laid with a promise to complete it within two years, the proposed Jaitapur–Ramnagar bridge over the Pasaaha River in Bara remains unbuilt, leaving local residents to struggle through floods and muddy roads during the monsoon. The 165-metre bridge, estimated to cost Rs 400 million, was inaugurated on October 25, 2022, by then-JSP Nepal leader and former forest minister Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav, who is now the Vice-President. At the time, Yadav had said the bridge would be completed within two years. Had the project proceeded as announced, the bridge would have been operational about 20 months ago. However, construction has yet to begin. The bridge is planned along the Simara-Kolhabi (Rajaiya) road section, connecting Jaitapur and Ramnagar in Jitpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan City-17. The detailed project report (DPR) has been completed, while work to clear the proposed construction site has also been carried out, according to local representatives. Interestingly, two bridges over the Pasaaha River were inaugurated on the same day in 2022; the Jaitapur–Ramnagar bridge and the Khamuwa–Madhuvan bridge. While the latter has since been completed and brought into operation, the Jaitapur–Ramnagar project remains stalled. Ward chairman Bhim Bahadur Gantan said the local government had taken steps to clear the site for the proposed bridge. He said the area had been inspected in the presence of elected representatives and community leaders and its boundaries determined. The absence of the bridge has created difficulties even for residents of the same ward. During the monsoon, flooding, waterlogging and mud make travel difficult, while sand and dust create problems during the dry season, said local resident Atmadev Bhattarai. He said the road is also a busy route and that the bridge would have eliminated the need for residents to take a longer and more difficult journey through a forest to access services. Local resident Navaraj Khadka, a former ward chairman, alleged that the bridge was inaugurated without adequate budgetary and preparatory work and was used for electoral publicity ahead of the 2022 federal election. The then federal lawmaker from Bara-3, Ram Babu Prasad Yadav, had said the government had already prepared the DPR and allocated a budget for the project. He had also said that although the river's course extended for about 900 metres, the proposed bridge would be around 200 metres long and that the contracting process had begun. Local residents now say they are still waiting for the promised bridge to become a reality.