BAJURA, APRIL 2
The building of Bajura District Hospital has started leaking just a year after its completion, raising concerns over construction quality.
According to hospital chief Dr. Chandra Shekhar Yadav, rainwater seeps through the roof and walls into the hospital during rainfall, disrupting services.
Although minor leakage was noticed within six months of completion, the problem has worsened, with water now entering multiple sections of the building and at times inundating parts of the facility.
The hospital had written to the Intensive Urban and Building Construction Project nearly a year ago, requesting repairs. It had also urged the construction company, P.S. Construction Doti, to fix the leakage and incomplete works. However, no repair work has been carried out so far.
Health workers say the situation becomes chaotic during rainfall, causing difficulties in delivering services and discomfort to both staff and patients.
The project office had declared the construction complete on Mangsir 23, 2080 BS and sought final payment, which the hospital cleared by the end of the fiscal year 2080/81.
Local resident Tula Bahadur Rokaya questioned the quality of construction, noting that a building constructed at a cost of over Rs 260 million began leaking within a year.
The 50-bed hospital project, initiated on Baisakh 5, 2075 BS, was contracted to a joint venture of Dafe–Lohani and P.S. Construction, with an initial deadline of Baisakh 5, 2078 BS. However, the project was completed after significant delays.
Constructed under the Ministry of Urban Development, the hospital complex includes four buildings and serves more than 100 patients daily.
Officials had earlier acknowledged technical issues and assured repairs, but even after a year, no visible action has been taken. Hospital staff say the continued leakage is affecting patient care, especially during rainy days.
