Butwal, October 14:

Dozens of expensive vehicles and heavy equipment bought by the government and gifted by foreign countries have been rendered useless, thanks to the negligence on the part of Heavy Equipment Division Office, Butwal, in maintaining them.

At least 60 tractors, dozers, loaders, rollers, excavators and cranes have become useless because of poor handling and negligence while parking them, a staffer at the office said. He also said that most of the equipment were corroding.

“Of the 61 heavy equipment lying unused in office compound, hardly 10-15 can be brought into operation. The price of these equipment range from Rs 500,000 to Rs 1 billion. Most of them were gifted by foreign countries,” another staffer said. The government reportedly allocates at least Rs 6 million annually to the office for the maintenance of the equipment. The office also earns around Rs 10 million a year by giving the equipment on hire.

Engineer Ashok Shrestha said the office was unable to take proper care of the equipment because of the lack of parking sheds.