Himalayan News Service

Bhaktapur, February 19

Reconstruction of the once busy Manohara bridge, which was supposed to be completed a year ago, remains incomplete till date. The bridge used to link Bhaktapur district with Kathmandu.

To reconstruct the bridge, which was destroyed by floods some six years ago, the department of roads had reached an agreement with the National Construction Company Nepal (NCCN) three years back. The agreement was made to complete the construction with an estimated amount of Rs 32,989,999.77 on 2057-02-13. The construction works, however, began after some months of delay.

According to Surrendra Ratna Tuladhar, chief of the Valley Construction Project of the National Construction Company-Nepal (NCCN), works amounting to Rs 30,496,463.15 have already been completed, which is 92 per cent of the total estimated funds allocated for the construction.

He said the rest of the works would be completed within two months, provided the government releases the remaining funds on time. "Budget crunch has contributed to delay in construction works," Tuladhar said. The government, therefore, has extended the completion date till April 12.

Tuladhar added additional Rs 6 million is needed for the variations occurred besides the agreement, which the government is hesitating to furnish and therefore the works have been delayed. "Many times the file was returned without any action," he said. "Being the responsible construction company, we are concerned over the possible damages that the river can cause if the safety measures are not followed which, however, is not included in the agreement."

The construction works were halted for some months as the government was unable to provide funds for the reconstruction. Chandra Subedi, an engineer at the Department of Roads, said a sum of Rs 10,000,000 is needed to complete the works and the file is yet to be verified by the ministry. "Altogether 80 per cent of the work has been completed."