Kanchanpur. Nepali Congress leader and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has visited the historic suspension bridge over the Mahakali River.

The writer, who visited the bridge today, said that he was deeply saddened by the collapse of the bridge. He urged the government of Nepal and the concerned bodies to make arrangements for the reconstruction and regular maintenance of the bridge at the earliest.

The writer said that this bridge is not only the historical heritage of Dodhara Chandani or Kanchanpur but of the entire country. He recalled that the bridge played an important role in connecting Dodhara Chandani directly with the rest of the country, which was once compelled to use Indian roads to connect with other parts of Nepal.

The writer said that when he was elected for the first time from Kanchanpur in 2056 BS, he proposed to construct a suspension bridge over the Mahakali River and connect Dodhara Chandani in the then House of Representatives, but some people joked that it was impossible. However, he said that the construction of the bridge was successful with the budget of the Government of Nepal, Nepali technicians and Nepali builders.

According to him, the construction of this bridge helped in the development and expansion of the technology to build long suspension bridges in other parts of Nepal as well. Therefore, the writer says that the bridge needs to be preserved, reconstructed and regularly maintained.