Jhapa, November 29

Six months after its completion, a motorable bridge built over the Mechi River in Jhapa is still awaiting inauguration, thanks to the delay in construction of roads. The bridge links Nepal and India.

While the Indian side needs to construct 400-metre road, 1.3 km road needs to be built on the Nepali side for the bridge to become operational.

The bridge was constructed at the cost of Rs 330 million.

Further, it has been learnt that the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers is pressurising the Postal Highway Project, Regional Office, Itahari, to do the needful to facilitate the inauguration of the bridge by the first week of December.

In the first phase, the project regional office is said to be clearing structures built within 167 metres from the bridge along the proposed road.

The project has already compensated the affected households.

“Once illegal structures are removed, we will gravel the road and bring the bridge into operation,” said Chief of Itahari regional office of the Postal Highway Project Bijaya Mahato.