Kathmandu, February 10

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration today said as many as 115 out of 135 cable contraptions, known as tuin in local language, were replaced with trail bridges throughout the country.

According to Planning and Monitoring Section of the MoFAGA, necessary construction works are under way to phase out the remaining 20 tuins of which Detailed Project Report have already been prepared. The government had on October 12, 2015 announced that all cable contraptions would be gradually phased out.

An action plan has been formulated to meet the target.  According to the rules, no person, organisation or agency shall be allowed to construct tuin in any part of the country after its commencement. It said the country would be tuin-free by January 14, 2021.

Cable contraptions are used to cross rivers in the remote hills, said officials. Nepal is home to more than 6,000 rivers and streams and most of them lack bridges. Many people have lost their fingers while crossing rivers using cable contraptions in the past, according to the MoFAGA.

The government has recently developed and implemented new rules on cable contraptions. The rules had come into force from January 14 after a notification published in the Nepal Gazette.

As per the rules, the concerned local levels shall have to displace the existing cable contraptions within two years from the commencement of these rules.

If any accident occurs due to construction of new cable contraptions thereafter, the concerned person, organisation or agency shall be held accountable for this. The rules also prohibit the construction of new cable contraptions.

The MoFAGA has urged the concerned local levels to remove cable contraptions replaced with trail bridges. “It has come to our notice that some local levels are yet to remove the cable contraptions even after being replaced with trail bridges. Therefore, we would like to request the local levels to remove them,” the MoFAGA said.