Gulmi. The construction of four cemented bridges in the western part under the Madan Bhandari Highway Project Office in Gulmi has brought great joy to the locals of the area. From this time onwards, the compulsion to cross the river during the festival season has been eliminated forever after a long wait.

The construction of four cemented bridges over the rivulets in Isma Rural Municipality, Dhurkot Rural Municipality and Malika Rural Municipality of the district has made the people of Isma Rural Municipality, Dhurkot Rural Municipality and Malika Rural Municipality of the district happy. The people of the area, who used to worry about crossing the river while coming home during the time of festivals like Dashain and Tihar, have been able to travel in an easy way after the construction of the bridge.

Four concrete bridges were constructed in the fiscal year 2081/82 after a long effort in the area. The bridges are Fulbari, Ghamir, Hulake and Dhanarji. The Fulbari river bridge was constructed at a cost of Rs 332.68 million while the Ghamirkhola bridge was constructed at a cost of Rs 31.38 million. The construction of the bridge was carried out by Panth Construction Service.

Similarly, Sunil Samir Construction Service has constructed the Hulake River bridge at the cost of Rs 579 lakh 53 thousand and Dhanarji River bridge at the cost of Rs 748 million, said Engineer and Information Officer of Madan Bhandari Highway Project Office, Homnath Poudel.

Krishna Prasad Aryal, a local, said the locals have been facing a lot of problems due to lack of a concrete bridge over the rivulet along the Madan Bhandari Highway. There was a compulsion to operate vehicles through the river for many years in absence of the bridge. During the rainy season, some vehicles get stuck in the middle of the river while crossing the river and sometimes they have to face the problem of being swept away by the flood. As a result, passengers had to face difficulties in commuting for years.

The political parties and leadership of the area had to face a lot of criticism from the citizens for not constructing the bridge. Dadhiram Panthi, a local of Isma-1, Guruwa, said that the locals are very happy with the smooth operation of vehicular movement after the construction of four cemented bridges at once.

Shobhakhar Giri, former chair of Malika-6, said that the construction of the bridge has made it easier for the people of Baglung and Pyuthan along with four local levels in the western part of the district. “In the absence of the bridge, the citizens were compelled to face the risk of accidents time and again, now with the construction of a concrete bridge over the river, the past problems have been resolved.

With the construction of roads and bridges along the Tamghas-Simaltari section, commercial activities have increased in Chhaldi Panaha, Jharana, Hulake, Dhanarji, Chaurasi, Rangdal, Phulbari and Simaltari, among other places, said Krishna Prasad Ghimire, a farmer of Isma-6. With the construction of the bridge in the western part of the district, which has half the population of the district, the people of the area have been happy along with easy travel.