The work of small, medium and national pride projects has been affected as workers have gone to their districts due to the upcoming elections and Holi. Work on projects other than essential ones has been stopped. Construction has not progressed as some project employees have also been deployed for the elections. The work on those projects will be stopped for about a week, the concerned officials have informed.

The work on the Nagdhunga-Sisnekhola tunnel, which is in the final stage of construction, has been stopped since Tuesday. The work on the tunnel will be closed from Tuesday to Saturday, said Saujanya Nepal, director of the Nagdhunga-Sisnekhola Tunnel Construction Project. ‘Holi fell at the same time, the election also took place,’ he said, ‘A lot of the tunnel work has been completed, landslide control was being done towards Dhading, now the work has been stopped for a few days.’ He said that work will be done regularly from Sunday. He informed that Nepali workers on the tunnel have gone to vote.

The election will affect the work on the roads and bridges under construction for a few days, said Kuber Nepali, director of the Postal Highway Directorate. ‘Work will be affected for a few days as Nepali workers working on various contracts go to vote,’ he said, ‘Now the pace of work will increase only after the election.’ The work of the national pride postal, mid-hill highway and irrigation projects has also been affected. Similarly, the work of Nagdhunga-Muglin, Narayangadh-Butwal, Aanbukhaireni-Pokhara, Kakadbhitta-Laukahi, Kamala-Kanchanpur, Kathmandu/Terai Madhesh Expressway, Madan Bhandari Highway has also been affected. 

Mitra Baral, Director General of the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation, said that the ongoing project work has been affected for a few days as employees go to conduct elections and workers of various projects go to vote. ‘Holi and the election seem to have happened at the same time,’ he said, ‘Many employees are also deployed for the election, due to which the work of projects that last for seven days is affected.’ 

Senior Divisional Engineer of the Planning, Program and Monitoring Branch of the Water Resources and Irrigation Department, Premhari Parajuli, said that 32 major programs are underway, including 6 projects of national pride. According to him, about 35 billion rupees have been allocated for river control and national pride projects, including 5 that have been constructed but need to be repaired and water provided, in the current fiscal year. 

The Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Multipurpose Project, Babai Irrigation, Sikta Irrigation, Mahakali Irrigation, Rani Jamara Kulariya Irrigation and Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Projects of national pride are currently underway under the department. The pace of work on these projects has slowed down due to Holi and elections. Workers have gone to various districts for the elections.

Even though the work on other projects has been affected, the work on the Parliament Building under construction inside Singha Durbar will not be stopped, said Rabindra Bohara, Director General of the Urban Development and Building Department. ‘The workers working on the construction of the parliament building stay indoors, partial work was done even during Holi,’ he said, ‘The work does not stop during the elections.’ He said that the work is being completed quickly as the building is needed immediately after the elections. ‘We are planning to increase the number of workers immediately after the elections and complete the work within two to three weeks,’ he said, ‘In the case of other projects, work will be stopped due to Holi and the elections, some have been affected.’ There are 1,500 small and large projects worth about 30 billion under this department. 

Ravi Singh, president of the Federation of Nepal Construction Entrepreneurs, said that work has not been done as planned in the projects currently underway across the country. ‘This year, work is not being done as planned, there is a severe shortage of workers, many are going abroad due to lack of employment security,’ he said, ‘It is difficult to find people of working age, there are those who work only for a short time, but in the past, it was said that they would do the work that came to them along with agricultural work.’ He said that now, due to lack of security of work and payment, the workers are not being paid on time for the work they have done. He believes that this has created a crisis of confidence in the construction sector. 

According to him, there are currently around 2.5 million jobs in the construction sector. ‘Among these, about 7 to 1 million are Indian workers,’ he said, ‘Currently, due to Holi and the elections, the work of many projects has been affected, most of them have gone home so that they can vote and go home.’ According to him, small and large projects worth Rs 4 trillion are underway across the country.

 ‘There are still projects that have been agreed upon for a long time, were initially included in the budget but were later not included, did not receive assurance of resources, and were sent to the local level,’ he said, ‘There are more projects that will not be implemented than those that will be implemented, and the amount of such projects is around Rs 1.9 trillion.’ He said that an estimated 30,000 contracts, including those at the local level, are ongoing.