Kathmandu, August 19:

What’s broken

Locals in and around Maitidevi have been facing problems after the road dug up near the Maitidevi intersection to construct drainage line has not been maintained. The work on the drainage has been halted for the past one week. A local users’ committee, in collaboration with Kathmandu Metropolitan City, had dug up the road to construct the drainage.

The locals decided to construct the drainage to prevent persisting water menace on the road section during rainy days. But the construction has been halted for nearly a week, disturbing the movement of vehicles in the narrow road section.

A local book-seller said the disruption in the construction of drainage system had been causing

accidents, especially in the wee hours when people cannot clearly see ditches on the road.

A traffic policeman deputed at the intersection said he was having hard times managing the traffic for the last two days. He also said there was an urgent need to address the problem or else the traffic movement would worsen further. A microbus driver shared similar views and urged authorities concerned to immediately solve the problem.

Who’s responsible

Locals said the construction was halted after they came across drinking water supply pipes and telephone cables laid along the drainage line. Bir Bahadur Karki, a technician at KMC, said they had requested the offices of Nepal Telecom and Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited to shift the cables and pipes.

Both the agencies said there was no possibility of shifting the pipes and the cables, Karki said. Now the locals and KMC have decided to lay sewage pipes by constructing a concrete chamber near the pipes and cables.

President of the local users’ group Mohammed Mohasin said all the technical hurdles had been sorted out and the construction would resume soon. “The contractor is on a leave for two days. The construction will resume after he joins the duty,” Mohasin added.

—Mohammed Mohasin, President, Road Users’ Group