Bajura, October 6

Construction work of a suspension bridge over Netikhola at Baudi of Himali Rural Municipality-3 in Bajura remains incomplete even eight years after the project started.

The bridge construction committee chairman Rangalal Luwar said Poverty Alleviation Fund had signed an agreement to complete the work within two years. Then, the estimated cost of the bridge was Rs 4.3 million. However, the delay has caused the cost to blow out to Rs 5.1 million, now.

So far, Rs 1.6 million from PAF, Rs 2 lakhs from the rural municipality and Rs 1 lakh from District Coordination Committee, Bajuira have been spent on the project.

Ward No 3 chairperson Dhyan Bahadur Rokaya said that though locals had collected Rs 6 lakhs and purchased the construction materials, the items remained stranded at Kolti Bazaar.

The chairperson of the rural municipality Govind Bahadur Malla accused PAF and Bajura DCC of turning a deaf ear to the locals’ plea for the resumption of construction work. Construction committee chief Luwar said the work could not be carried out further as PAF failed to provide additional fund, as per the agreement.

Engineer Jung Thapa from the Office of District Technicians, Bajura, conceded that the project had overshot the cost and deadline. PAF district coordinator Ratan Bahadur Budha said he would take an initiative to resume construction work at the earliest.

The lack of bridge over Netikhola has forced locals to cross the river risking their lives.