BAJURA, MARCH 20
The construction process of the school building which had stagnated midway, is now set to resume construction with the assistance of the Indian Embassy.
The under construction school building of the Jana Prakash Secondary School in Kolti of Budinanda Municipality-2 in Bajura had been left in the unfinished state for the last eight years after the contractor abandoned it mid way.
Now, the municipality, in collaboration with the Indian Embassy, has initiated a new tender worth Rs 32.8 million for the completion of the abandoned school building. Santosh Kumar Shah, the Chief Administrative Officer of the municipality, disclosed that the funding, totaling Rs 19.7 million from the Indian Embassy and Rs 13.1 million from the Municipality, has been allocated for this purpose.
The tender process has been has already been completed, with evaluations expected to conclude within one or two days, paving the way for contract signing, informed CAO Shah.
Mayor Janak Kumar Bohara had requested to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu for assistance for the reconstruction of the dilapidated structure of the abandoned school building. Following the embassy's on-site assessment, the municipality was encouraged to proceed with the reconstruction, leading to the initiation of a renewed collaboration with the Indian Embassy and the advancement of the tender process.
The project, initially funded by the Indian Embassy with Rs 44.47 million eight years ago, was stalled, leaving the 15-room school building unfinished despite significant investment. The Indian Embassy had provided financial assistance for the construction of 2 student dormitory buildings and 1 school building.
Galvo Construction Services, contracted for the project, failed to complete even 20% of the construction over the years, resulting in the building's abandonment and deterioration.
Mayor Janak Kumar Bohara disclosed that the construction company had already received NPR 16.9121 million for the unfinished work, including an advance payment of Rs 4.9 million. Despite the earlier contract stipulating completion within 15 months, only a fraction of the work has been accomplished thus far.
Despite repeated communications with the construction service company for an extension, the school principal Anojraj Giri mentioned no response has been received yet.
A tripartite agreement for the construction of the school building was signed on November 6, 2015 between Arjun Prasad Subedi, the then local development officer of District Development Committee, Gambhir Singh, Joint Secretary of Indian Embassy and Anoj Raj Giri, Principal of the Jana Prakash Higher Secondary School.
According to the construction experts, the work that has been completed so far will also need to be redone.
(Transl., Ed.: Sandeep Sen)
