Dharan. Three motorable bridges under construction at Bagh Khola, Baguwa Khola and Thakuri Khola along the Dharan-Chatrasadak section of the Madanbhandari Highway have reached the final stage.

However, the construction of the railway bridge along the road has not yet started. Umesh Shrestha, an engineer at Surya and Sons Construction Construction Company, said that the construction of bridges over Bagh Khola, Baguwa Khola and Thakuri Khola has been completed up to 95 percent.

He said that 90 per cent of the construction of the 60-metre-long Bagh khola bridge along the Dharan-Chatra road section at Barahkshetra Municipality-1 in Sunsari has been completed. Similarly, 95 per cent of the construction of 30-metre-long and 11-metre-wide bridge at Baguwa Rivulet and 90 per cent of the construction of 35-metre-long bridge at Thakuri Khola have been completed, he said.

“However, the work on the railway bridge has not started as it falls within the forest area. Since the forest clearance work is done by the office, the work will be started immediately after the clearance,” said Engineer Shrestha.

The company had approved the contract for the construction of four motorable bridges at a cost of Rs 217.86 million including VAT in May 2018. Engineer Shrestha said that all the three bridges have come into operation and the finishing work is pending on the side. As there are many trees in the vicinity, the remaining works will be completed after finishing and managing the trees that were stopped earlier on the side road, he said.

“It was very difficult to travel in the river during the rainy season and many human casualties were reported. Now after the construction of the bridge, easy travel has become possible. The road section is an important route for the citizens of Bhojpur, Khotang, Udayapur and other districts for the distribution of health services, education and agricultural produce in Dharan Bazaar. Locals believe that the absence of a bridge will be a long-term solution to the problems faced during the rainy season.