Although the work on the other sections reaching Barpak has been completed, the work on the 8-kilometer section from Arkul to Dhodeni remained incomplete for 10 years, after which the contract was terminated and a new process was started.
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After the work on the Barpak road, which was contracted to be completed by 2075 BS, fell into abeyance, the old contract was terminated and a new process was started.
The 46.6-kilometer road from Bahrakilo to Barpak, the epicenter of the 2072 Baisakh earthquake, was divided into four sections and the work was completed by 2075 BS. Although the work on the other sections was completed, the work on the 8-kilometer road from Arkul to Dhodeni (Chainage 22 to 30) had been delayed for 10 years. The new process was started by terminating the contract with Lohani & Brothers, which was responsible for the construction of that section.
Although the contract agreement was signed on Asad 30, 2072 BS, Lohani & Brothers did not complete the work even after the deadline was extended eight times. At that time, Lohani & Brothers took over the responsibility of the blacktop for Rs. 132 million.
After the road remained unpaved despite repeated extensions, the Gorkha Road Project terminated the contract on November 12. Ashish Rijal, an engineer at the Gorkha Road Project, said that the Procurement Monitoring Office had also recommended that the construction company be blacklisted by terminating the contract. “Since the road was abandoned while the work was underway, we have also asked for the recovery of the damaged work, and we have also confiscated the contractor’s bank guarantee,” he said. “The contract has been terminated and a new contract has been awarded after completing all the processes including the estimate.” Now, Rijal said that the work will start from the next fiscal year after completing the remaining processes of the new contract.
‘The contract period is 30 months,’ he said, ‘All the other sections reaching Barpak have been blacktopped, only after the work on this section is completed will the road up to Barpak be blacktopped.’ The previous construction company, Lohani & Brothers, has completed 80 percent of the work on the section. But Rijal said that when the work was stopped, it was found that it needed to be repaired again.
The office has stated that the work on the last section from Baluwa to Barpak under the Barpak road section has also been completed. The 12-kilometer section of the road reaching Barpak from Masanethanti to Nivel Khare falls under the Mid-Hill Highway. The section has been blacktopped. 5 kilometers of the initial section and 5 kilometers of the section from 17 to 22 kilometers have also been blacktopped. ‘This is the only problem in the Arkul section, all other sections are blacktopped,’ said Rijal, an engineer at the office, ‘Some landslide areas need to be repaired, and work on that is also progressing.’
In the 8-kilometer area of the Arkul section, mud during the rainy season and dust during the winter have added to the difficulty of commuting. When the blacktopping work of the 8-kilometer road in the Arkul section was stalled for 10 years, locals including Barpak, Laprak, Gumda have been facing problems in commuting and transporting daily necessities during the rainy season. Stating that the road has become stalled, the locals have also been demanding to speed up the construction time and again.
