Khotang, July 19

A steel truss has been set up for the under-construction bridge over the Dudhkoshi River at Jayaramghat, on the mid-hills Highway, much to the relief of the residents of Khotang who have been facing a tough time due to lack of a permanent bridge.

“The bridge had always been our main concern as it marked the major entry point into Khotang,” said lawmaker Panchkarna Rai of Khotang Constituency-1. Construction of bridge would be a major fillip for the development of the district. He added. “Albeit late, installation of the truss now has given us hope,” Rai said.

According to site Engineer Sitaram Karki of the contractor company Kalika Construction, 85 per cent of the construction work has been completed so far. “Despite slow work in the past, work has been expedited now with the target of opening the bridge for vehicles from Dashain this year,” he said.

Diwakar Golchha’s Kalika Construction and Bikram Pande’s Hulas Engineering had together signed the contract for the bridge construction eight years ago, with an agreement

that the former would carry out cement-related work and the latter the steel-related work of the project worth 100 million rupees.

The contract had originally stipulated completion of the 150-metre bridge in two years.

The project’s contract period was extended three times in a row, with the latest extension expiring in January/February this year itself.

For the last four years, lack of concrete bridge over the river had resulted in loss of six million rupees each year for installation and removal of temporary Bailey bridge.

Meanwhile, Dudhkoshi Bridge Project Manager Uddhav Rana Magar conceded the delay in the construction work, attributing the same to the compulsion of having to use Chinese technicians and machines.