Rautahat. Locals of Rautahat and Sarlahi districts of Madhes province have been facing problems due to the delay in the construction of bridges in different places of the district.

The construction of the bridge has been stalled as the construction of the bridge has not been completed. Two bridges over the Bagmati River to connect Rautahat and Sarlahi districts have not been constructed within the stipulated time, forcing commuters to travel risky and arduous journeys for years. Normal life has been affected. The bridge will not only connect Sarlahi and Rautahat but also Parsa, Bara and Rautahat with Janakpur, the capital of Madhes Province.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and Urban Development Kul Man Ghising inspected the bridges this evening and took stock of the progress of the bridges. He also discussed with the locals about the problems they were facing due to lack of bridges.

Minister Ghising said he was saddened by the problems faced by the people every day due to the lack of bridge construction. Locals had urged the government to complete the bridge immediately.

A bridge that connects Durgabhagati Rural Municipality of Rautahat and Ramnagar Rural Municipality of Sarlahi has remained in limbo.

The contract for the bridge construction was signed with the Tundi-Rasuwa-Pappu Joint Venture (JV) in July 2016 at a cost of Rs 863.7 million.

As per the deadline of the contract agreement, the bridge construction has to be completed by 13th Kartik 2083. The flood in the Bagmati River in September last year swept away a span and a foundation of the bridge. The physical progress of the bridge is 80 percent.

The 634-metre long Bagmati (Baderwa) bridge linking Sarlahi and Rautahat along the Postal Highway was initially agreed to be completed within three years. The bridge has not been constructed even after 12 and a half years. After the contractor could not complete the work, a new contract was awarded in April 2079 at a cost of Rs 650.16 million.

As per the agreement, the project will be completed within two and a half years, but only 20 percent progress has been made so far. Although the deadline for the contract has been extended till Chaitra 2083, the contractor has not been mobilized at the construction site.

The construction of the Gaidatar silver bridge located north of Chapur of Rautahat has been in limbo for the past 10 years. The bridge that connects Bakaiya Rural Municipality of Makwanpur with the Dharan-Chatara-Hetauda road section has been given a deadline three times, but the construction is yet to be completed. Locals had staged hunger strike and other protest programmes demanding the immediate completion of the bridge. The contract for the bridge construction was awarded to Pappu-Shivashankar JV.