Siraha. The bridge over the Kamala River connecting Siraha and Dhanusha districts has been incomplete for the last 14 years. The 469-metre-long bridge, which was started in 2068 BS with a target of completing it within three years, has not yet been completed.

If the bridge is not built, the locals have to make a risky journey through a temporary bamboo or wooden bridge. The movement had come to a standstill after a temporary bamboo bridge was washed away by floods in the third week of July. Although the movement has been made easier by making the wooden structure again, the risk remains the same.

Praveen Yadav of Siraha-6 said, “We have been suffering for years due to non-construction of the bridge. The wooden structure built now is risky, but we are forced to walk along that route. Travelling with a motorcycle is even more scary, but there is no alternative. Passengers are also being charged arbitrarily. Though the municipality claimed free operation, it had to pay up to Rs 50, he said.

“Earlier, rs 20 was charged as per the contract agreement, but now it has been said that it has also been removed, but in practice the fee has increased further,” he said. On the one hand, there is a double burden on the people, risky travel, on the other hand, irregular fee collection. ’

Pappu-Lumbini JV was earlier given the responsibility of constructing the bridge.

Lumbini Builders has been carrying out the remaining work after Pappu Construction was blacklisted. However, the company has stopped work for the last one month citing non-payment of insurance amount of Rs 80 million for necessary repairs.

Engineer Ranjit Kumar Raya, information officer at the Postal Highway Directorate Planning Office, Janakpur, said that the process of blacklisting Lumbini Builders has been initiated by breaking the contract as the construction company has stopped the work within the stipulated time.

Siraha-6 ward chair Indrajit Yadav said that in the absence of a bridge, pedestrians have to cross the river by climbing bamboo ladders or boats in the post-flood period. Every year’s rainy season has become a challenge for the locals as the bridge over the Kamala River is incomplete.