[Archive] That new bridge that opened the door to the Far West

Jestha 8, 2082

Kantipur Reporter

[Archive] That new bridge that opened the door to the Far West

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Karnalipari means a geography that is lagging behind in development, has been passed over and is not under the eyes of the central government. In the past 32 years, Karnali has made many leaps in terms of development infrastructure. But even after three decades, the understanding and thinking of 32 years ago has not changed. As soon as the name of Karnali is mentioned, even now, like yesterday, in the minds of the city's citizens and policymakers, it is depicted as a geography that is lagging behind in development.

Until three decades ago, even going across Karnali had to find a way to India. The suffering of the residents of that area was very painful as a motorable bridge could not be built on the Karnali river. After the political change of 2046, the Karnali region also benefited from the economic activity boosted by the development of physical infrastructure and privatization.

The residents of that region were freed only in the year 2050 from the pain of not being able to build a bridge on the Karnali river which started in 2044. When a motorable bridge was built at Karnali, the Far West was connected by transport . It became easy in the neighborhood . Inaugurating the bridge on 28th November 2050, the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said, "The door to the Far West has opened."

The bridge was built at Chisapani, 77 km west of Kohalpur and 127 km east of Mahakali. That bridge was the only entryway to connect the country's former far-western development region. Before the bridge was built, one had to use a ferry to cross Karnali and go to Dhangadhi. Banwasa road should have been used to go to Kanchanpur . If you don't use it again to go to Dhangadhi, you should have passed through Paliakala railway station from Rupadiya in India. The bridge somehow removed the sorrow of Karnali. 

The construction of the new design bridge with only one tower was done by the Japanese company Kawasaki Heavy Industries Limited (Japan). It was only 10 percent of the budget cost of Nepal government. 

280 thousand sacks of cement, 3 thousand 175 tons of structural steel, 1 thousand 250 tons of iron rods were used for the bridge, and 360 million 24 million rupees were spent for the construction of the bridge. Technicians and workers from 14 countries including Nepal, United States, Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Korea and others were deployed to build the bridge. During the construction of the bridge, Nepali technicians had the opportunity to learn new technology.

Speaking at the opening event, the then Prime Minister Koirala said that the construction of the bridge will facilitate the transportation and the tourism business will flourish. He also promised to prepare a master plan for tourism development in this area. Koirala said that 17 bridges in the Banwasa-Kohalpur section will be built soon, saying that the development of the west is less than that of the east.

Prime Minister Koirala also claimed that the Panchayat has achieved development in 30 years and a half. He informed that medical colleges are being established in Nepalgunj, Bharatpur, Sunsari and Pokhara and another college will also be established in Dhangadhi. He said that France is conducting a survey to build the West Seti hydropower project. He said that the power project will help in the development of this area. But the West Seti project that he raised at that time has not been completed even in 32 years . While speaking, he said that the help of locals is needed to build the road from Chisapani to Mangalsen in Achham.

Only four years have passed since the collapse of the Panchayat system and in the two and a half years since the formation of the elected government, the citizens' desire for development was high. Since there was a lot of trust in the prime minister and ministers at that time, it was seen that citizens had a lot of trust saying that they would help in development . In the

program, the then Construction and Transport Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka said that the construction of the bridge will help in the economic development of Karnalipari. Kantipur Dainik published the news written by Bardia journalist Kamal Panthi about the construction of the Karnali bridge and its impact on this area on 29th of November 2050 under the title 'New technology bridge to connect two development areas is ready'. 

 Presentation: Rishiram Paudyal

Kantipur

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