Kathmandu. Construction of two roads under ‘One Constituency, One Strategic Road’ in Baglung district has been in limbo due to lack of budget. The construction of the road linking Bareng from Court Chaupari in Constituency No. 1 of Baglung and the road linking Harichaur of Galkot to Pandavkhani via Malma in Constituency No. 2 has been in limbo.

The construction of the road linking Chaupari to Sigana to Bareng was halted at the ward office of Sigana. The construction of the section was in limbo as the contractor was not paid on time. The construction was halted for one and a half years but was completed last year.

The contractor which had constructed the 10-km stretch from the district headquarters Baglung bazaar has returned after getting paid. The state has not been able to award the contract for the construction of the ward office. The government, which has withdrawn its plans due to lack of budget, has not specified when the strategic road will be completed.

Likewise, the contract for the first section of the road linking Harichaur-Malma to Pandavkhani in constituency-2 is yet to be completed. Although some work seems to have been done now÷ locals are not convinced that it will be completed or not. The contractor company has started work on the eight-kilometer road section only after the extension of the deadline.

The contractor company, which has completed only 25 per cent of the work in the stipulated time, has now set a target of blacktopping five kilometers of the road. According to the World Wide Purna Joint Construction Company, the construction has started some time ago and has made 70 percent physical progress. The company has started preparing to blacktop the easy section.

Earlier, the contractor had left the project due to lack of payment on time. The contractor had left the project last year after he failed to receive the payment of Rs 3.5 crore. The work has started after the deadline was extended and the amount was promised.

Engineer Sagar Bhandari said that the project is planned to be completed by mid-April. The contract for the construction of the road was signed at Rs 252.2 million in August 2020.

Similarly, locals were worried after the contractor left the construction of the strategic road linking Kushmisera-Bareng in limbo. The budget was ensured after the consumers formed a struggle committee and requested the Chief Minister.

The road from Namduk to Bareng has been blacktopped while preparations are underway to construct the road from Kushmisera to Rangkhani. Due to lack of budget, the construction of the road linking Bongadobhan and Soledanda of Tamankhola has not been completed.