Rautahat, August 6:

Causeways along the 10-km section of the Birendra Highway at the Gaur municipality-10 have started crumbling even before completion of construction and are affecting vehicular movement. The Hetauda Road Division Office had contracted Bhetwal, Sandeep and Deep, YK, Tarun and Bindhyachal contractors for the construction of the causeways. Locals here said the contractors used sub-standard materials while constructing the causeways.

“Contractors had used sub-standard construction materials and now the structures are fast crumbling before completion of the construction contract,” Rajinder Shah, a local of Sapagadha of Gaur said. He also blamed the authorities concerned for showing indifference towards the incident. Vehicle drivers are facing great difficulty on the 10-km section of the road due to the damaged causeways. Nabonath Jha, an engineer at the Road Division Office said the office would look into the matter soon. Contractors, however, claimed they did not use sub-standard construction materials, adding the crumbling of causeways was a technical problem which they would solve by reconstructing the damaged structures.