Dhobikhola Corridor Project incomplete after a decade

Kathmandu, July 18

More than a decade after construction work began, the Dhobikhola corridor remains incomplete.

The Dhobikhola Corridor Improvement Project, under the Kathmandu Valley City Development Committee had started in 2002.

“The construction work will not be completed in 2016/17. It will need two more years to finish,” said District Commissioner Ram Prasad Shrestha.

Shrestha said the project has not been completed because of debates over private properties over which the corridor is planned to be built. “The land appropriated for the corridor covers some private houses and land,” he said.

“Sometimes, there were problems with coordination among authorities, sometimes the public hindered construction works, and sometimes labourers failed to finish their work,” he added.

A budget of Rs 3.35 billion has been separated for construction of the corridor, of which Rs 1.24 billion has already been used. More than half the work remains to be completed.

“We are about to complete reeling, but other works remain. Laying the sewage pipes is taking a long time, but after we complete constructing the exhaust, the construction will go smoothly.” Delays in construction has affected traffic and the lives of locals.

“We haven’t even been able to walk on the roads because of the construction work. The roads were better before the project started,” said Krishna Bahadur Shrestha, a local.

“Many ministers have passed through this road, but they don’t seem to have noticed the incomplete project,” he added.

“Changes in season bring fresh pain in our lives, with mud and dust every where,” said a street vendor.

“Some days, we see labourers at work, but they are often absent for days,” he added.

“We now need to finish constructing the exhaust, the footpaths, and black-top the road, besides planting trees and keeping resting benches for pedestrians.

We will finish these works of the eight-km long corridor project soon,” said DC Shrestha.