The company did not complete the construction of the nearly 100-meter bridge for a long time. After the Mid-Hill Highway Project Office issued a notice to terminate the contract, it completed about 30 percent of the work and left the bridge abandoned again.
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
YP Construction Pvt. Ltd. of Lalitpur took over the construction of the bridge on the Bheri River connecting Rukum Paschim and Jajarkot under the Mid-Hill Highway in 2069 BS. The company had taken over the responsibility for Rs 134.7 million, saying that it would complete the work within 30 months.
The company did not complete the construction of the bridge for a long time, which is about 100 meters long. After the Mid-Hill Highway Project Office issued a notice to terminate the contract, it completed about 30 percent of the work and left the bridge stranded again.
The construction of the bridge has not yet been completed. The project has blacklisted YP Construction and terminated its contract with it, and decided to fine the contractor Rs 85.795 million.
Since then, the contract has been opened three times. No contractor registered a tender twice, and the third time it was rejected after the tender was higher than the cost, said project engineer Nabin Kharal. According to him, the office opened a contract for nearly 135 million rupees, but the construction businessmen submitted a tender for a higher amount.
As the bridge construction work has been stalled for a long time, the road network between Jajarkot and Rukum West has not been connected through the Mid-Hill Highway. Local Kamal KC said that the residents of both districts have been forced to commute through the suspension bridge after the concrete bridge was stalled. According to him, the work of the Chaurjahari New City Construction Project has also been affected due to the bridge.
‘The previous contractors left the bridge construction work stalled without even building the foundation,’ he said. ‘The construction materials brought for the bridge construction, including rods, gravel and sand, are lying idle, and the vehicles brought for the construction, including dozers, tippers, and other vehicles, have also become abandoned on the river bank.’
If the bridge is built, Kudu in Bheri Municipality of Jajarkot and Chaurjahari Municipality in Rukum West will be connected. Currently, only ordinary pillars have been erected on both sides, said Kharal, the project engineer. Local leader Khamwajang Shah says that even the Rukum-Jajarkot section of the highway has become incomplete after the bridge construction was stalled.
‘If the bridge was built, the entire section of the mid-hills could be traveled in a single vehicle,’ he said. ‘If the bridge was not built, people have to use the Neta-Kainkanda road as an alternative to travel from Rukum West to Surkhet.’ He informed that the bridge has caused problems in the operation of regular transport vehicles on the mid-hills highway. He says that nearly 50 employees and laborers deployed for the bridge construction have not received their salaries.
