Rautahat, June 5

Work related to the design review of a bridge over the Bagmati River in Durga Bhagawati Rural Municipality of Rautahat, which had been stranded for the past six years has started from today. The bridge on the Postal Highway links Rautahat and Sarlahi districts.

At the special initiative of the Postal Road Directorate, Abhiyan Consultant Kathmandu has started work-related to the bridge design review by using a drone.

“It will take three days for us to complete our design review work, after which we’ll submit the report to the directorate,” said Engineer Bibek Gautam of the consultant company.

The bridge work has been left in limbo for the past six years after the contractor entrusted with the bridge construction left work.

Meanwhile, the delay in construction of the bridge which is also viewed as an ambitious project linking the Tarai districts with their headquarters has left a large number of people in the Tarai districts at the receiving end. As the bridge is yet to be completed, the locals here risk to crossing the river which is in full spate during the monsoon.

The project was initiated during the Madhav Nepal government in the past.

For the project, Pappu Construction had signed a contract with the Road Department on 14 June 2010.

As per the contract, the bridge was to be completed in three years.

According to Postal Road Project Parsa, so far 60 per cent of the bridge construction has been finished.

“As the directorate has shown interest in completing the project, the long-halted construction will begin soon now, which will finally end the plight of locals,” said project chief of the Postal Road Project, Parsa.