Gulmi. The construction of the road from Simaltari of Gulmi to Machhi of Pyuthan along the Madanbhandari Highway has been delayed. Commuters have been facing problems during the year as the builders have not constructed the road within the stipulated time.

Only 26 per cent physical progress has been made in the road section in the last three years. According to Prabhat Tiwari, engineer at Madan bhandari Highway Planning Office, Gulmi, 26 per cent physical and 23 per cent financial progress has been made on the road in the last 33 months.

Shrestha-Sakchyam JV had taken the responsibility of constructing a 31-kilometer road from Simaltari of Gulmi to Machhi of Pyuthan via Sautamare. The agreement for the construction of 31 kilometers of road was signed at a cost of Rs 1.45 billion on November 1, 2019.

Madane rural municipality chair Mahendra Bahadur Kunwar said the road construction has not picked up pace for a long time. A joint team of local levels and planning office led by Gulmi’s Chief District Officer Bishnu Prasad Koirala has recently carried out on-site inspection of the road section. During the monitoring, information was taken about the progress of the work and the condition of the road.

Chief District Officer Koirala said that many works including blacktopping of the subway, base and asphalt technology of the road are pending. The Madanbhandari Highway Planning Office has been constantly urging the contractors to speed up the work. The office aims to complete the construction of the road by mid-July 2083 if the work is carried out continuously.

Engineer Kisan Shah said the delay was due to financial problems. He said that the work has been affected due to the delay in receiving payment from the office in mid-January and mid-July. He said that the process of extension of deadline has been forwarded and it will be completed within the extended deadline.