Gulmi. In the absence of a bridge over the rivulet for years, the locals had to spend hours to reach a distance of five minutes. If you had to cross the river, you had to cross the river at risk during the rainy season. But now the locals are crossing the border easily within a distance of five minutes.

The bridge has made it much easier to connect the villages of the two wards. Locals are happy with the construction of a suspension bridge between Thorga and Gwadi of Rurukshetra Rural Municipality-1 and 2. The construction of the bridge has made it easier for villagers to cross the border and perform rituals, get married and help the villagers in emergencies.

The bridge has been constructed at a cost of Rs 18.6 million by the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development of Lumbini Province. The suspension bridge connects Golpokhari of Ward No. 1 and Chaur Phanta of Ward No. 2 of the municipality.

Yadu Gyawali, chairperson of the rural municipality, said that the suspension bridge has made it easier for the farmers to bring agricultural products to the market.

Laxman Pandey, chief administrative officer of the rural municipality, said that four suspension bridges have already been constructed in Rurukshetra alone, including Gwadi, Chhamdi, Talkhola and Golpokhari-Besikachaur. In the absence of a bridge, the Kaligandaki Primary School of Thorga had to be integrated into Ridi due to lack of students.

The students had to walk for one and a half to two hours to reach the school. Trilochan Gyawali, 66, a resident of Rurukshetra-2, Gwadi, said that the students of Gwadi are now able to board the bus as soon as they cross the bridge. Constructed by Ramakrishna SRJV, the bridge is 342 metres long and 137 metres high.