Kathmandu, November 19 Infrastructure and Technology Development Division under the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development has issued a circular to all district development committees and district technical offices, directing them to provide the details of cable contraptions, also locally called tuin, which are used to cross rivers in the remote hills, to the Suspension Bridge Division. According to the MoFALD, the circular has been issued in response to the announcement by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to replace all existing cable contraptions with suspension bridges within two years. “In line with the government’s decision to replace cable contraptions with suspension bridges, we request you to provide the details to SBD,” read the circular issued to DDCs and DTOs on November 16. They have been given five days to submit the details of existing cable contraptions in a prescribed format. The DDCs and DTOs are required to mention the name of district, location of the cable contraption, name of river or stream over which it is installed, its length, local population benefited from it, name of VDC and time taken to reach the nearest suspension bridge using it, among others. Recent statistics by the government show that there are 350 cable contraptions throughout the country and it would cost approximately Rs 3.25 billion to replace them with suspension bridges. There are more than 6,000 rivers and streams in the country and most of them lack bridges. According to a study by Practical Action, an INGO, many people have lost fingers while crossing rivers using cable contraptions.