Dhangadi, December 4

The road widening project along the Dhangadi-Attariya Bazaar route has faced setbacks due to electric poles installed along the road section in Kailali.

The road widening project has not made progress as the electric poles along the road section are yet to be removed. “If the poles are not removed immediately, it will be impossible for us to complete the task on time,” said Chief Officer Roshan Bhatta of Rajendra Construction Service Company. He said construction work was in the second and third phase.

“Though it has been over six months that the road expansion started, the poles are yet to be removed. The poles should be installed at a distance of 25 metres on either side from the centre of the road. But they were installed within the road. Hence, we have not been able to carry on with construction work effectively of late,” said Bhatta.

A total of 14.2 kilometres of road from Mohana Bridge to Attariya has to be widened to 25 metres on both sides and the project is supposed to be completed within three years at a cost of Rs 686 million.

The contractors have removed old infrastructure along the construction site besides waste management and construction of drainage, as per project Engineer Sulabh Bhatta. “The locals have not cooperated in removing the installed poles for road expansion. The administration is responsible for removing those electric poles and other infrastructure. However, they have not paid any heed,” he said.

Meanwhile, the road expansion office said they could not remove the poles as they lacked budget for the purpose.