One of the two bridges, located 11 kilometers apart on the Kankai River, has been abandoned for a decade and a half, while the other is ready to be operational less than three years after construction began.
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The Kankai River in Jhapa, which floods during the rainy season, causes huge loss of life and property every year. Hundreds of families are displaced. There are currently three bridges over this river. Of these, the concrete bridge on the East-West Highway has been in operation for a long time. The two bridges under construction to the south have two different stories.
It has been a decade and a half since the construction of the Kankai Bridge along the Postal Highway connecting Bhadrapur in Jhapa to Biratnagar in Morang in the west began. However, there is still no sign of its completion. The project has become even more uncertain after the contract was terminated five months ago. This has left the general public frustrated. On the other hand, about 11 kilometers north, the news that another bridge has almost reached the preparation stage in a short time has excited locals.
The 71.60-meter-long Shivganj-Madargach bridge connects Shivganj Bazaar of Shivsatakshi Municipality and Madargach, the commercial center of Jhapa Rural Municipality. These two bridges, which are being built on the same river, show a different picture of development and construction.
Of the two bridges, located about 11 kilometers apart, one has been abandoned for a decade and a half, while the other is ready for operation less than three years after construction began. ‘The bridge on the postal highway was the most needed right now,’ says Shahid Miyan, a local from Jhapa Rural Municipality, ‘but the bridge in the less needed area was built quickly, while the essential bridge has not yet been built.’
The construction of the Shivganj-Madargach bridge began on Falgun 10, 2080. Its cost, including VAT, is Rs 1.12 billion. The deadline for completing the bridge, which was started at a cost of Rs 990 million excluding tax, has been set for Asoj 10, 2083. Construction company Sharma & Company Pvt. Ltd. is preparing to complete the work much earlier than the scheduled time.
According to the construction company's project manager Guru Dhungana, 97 percent of the work has been completed so far. 'Work is progressing at a rapid pace, preparations are underway to start motoring by Jestha,' he said. Initially, there was a plan to build a suspension bridge here. The then provincial MP Jhalaksingh Darlami Magar had proposed the construction of a suspension bridge with the provincial government. The budget had also been allocated.
The suspension bridge plan was canceled after the federal government awarded the contract for the construction of a motorized bridge. It is expected that the bridge will facilitate local agriculture, health, education and business activities. Earlier, locals depended on boats and bamboo bridges to cross the river. The risk increased during the rainy season. Patients have to endure a lot of hardship to reach the hospital, students to school and farmers to take their produce to the market. Local Narendra Basnet says, ‘Earlier it took an hour to cover a distance of 10 minutes, now Madargachh can be reached from Shivganj in 5-8 minutes.’ According to him, this road will make it easy to reach India via Surunga, Bhadrapur, Birtamod.
However, the situation of the Postal Highway Bridge over the Kankai River is exactly the opposite. The construction agreement for the bridge connecting Bhadrapur-Biratnagar via Gauriganj Rural Municipality and Jhapa Rural Municipality was signed on 31st Jestha 2068. Pappu-Mahadev Khimti JV had taken the contract for 349 million rupees to complete it by 29th Jestha 2072. The work of the 725-meter-long bridge has been completed only 56 percent in 14 years.
After the work was stalled for a long time, the then Minister of Physical Infrastructure Kulman Ghising terminated the contract on Mangsir 11, 2082. Five months after the termination of the contract, the new process has not yet progressed. ‘After the termination of the contract, there was hope that the new process would start before the rainy season,’ says Budhlal Rajbanshi, a local of Gauriganj, ‘The contract has been terminated, but the new process has not started yet.’
The public is forced to cross the river by using bamboo rafts in winter and paid boats in the rainy season. After the contract is canceled, a ‘side verification’ process must be carried out. Under this, the work that has been completed is evaluated, quality testing is carried out, and details of the remaining work are prepared. The re-contracting process was stopped due to the delay in this process. Even though the construction company approached the Supreme Court, the court refused to issue an interim order on Poush 2, 2082, paving the way for a new contract. However, the work has not progressed due to the slow administrative process. According to Upendra Das, engineer at the Postal Highway Directorate Planning Office, Itahari, an expert team will be deployed from the center soon for the structural study of the bridge. Das says, "The team will study whether it is safe to build the bridge on the old structure or whether a new structure should be built. The work will move forward on that basis." According to him, the revised criteria have made the re-contracting process easier. It has been stated that a new process will be taken forward after the evaluation of the remaining work.
