Locals have surrounded Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal and the contractor at a bridge being constructed over the Kamala River along the Hulaki Highway.
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Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal has been surrounded by locals at the Kamala River. Locals surrounded him at the place where the bridge is being constructed on the Kamala River along the Hulaki Highway.
He had come here on Saturday to get information about and inspect the construction of the bridge. However, after leaving without addressing the locals or giving any response to the media, the locals surrounded him.
After the locals surrounded the vehicle in which Minister Lamsal was travelling, he finally got out and listened to the locals. The locals had asked Minister Lamsal to provide concrete information about when the bridge would be built. After that, Minister Lamsal had asked the contractor about this. The contractor had replied that the bridge would be operational within 15 days. After that, the locals allowed them to leave.
'Before surrounding Minister Lamsal, the locals also surrounded Lumbini Builders JV owner Bishnu Sharma,' said a local. It has been almost 15 years since the foundation stone of this bridge was laid. A contract was signed in 2068 Mangsir for Rs 249.1 million to complete the construction of the 470-meter-long and 11-meter-wide bridge in Kamala within three and a half years.
However, Pappu Lumbini Builders JV Construction, which was awarded the contract for the construction of the bridge, did not build the bridge on the specified date. After that, despite repeated extensions, the bridge could not be built. The construction of the bridge became uncertain due to the state's indifference and the contractor's extreme negligence.
After the Postal Road Struggle Committee started a relay hunger strike, the Postal Highway Directorate snatched the contract from Pappu Construction and handed over the task to Lumbini Builders Construction on Asoj 1, 2076, with the task of completing the work by Asad 13, 2078. While the construction was being prepared for the inauguration, the bridge collapsed due to a general flood on Asad 17, 2078.
Since then, Lumbini Builders has been reconstructing the bridge. However, even after five years, the reconstruction work has not been completed. The issue of a flaw in the design of this bridge has also been raised, on which the CIAA is also investigating.
Local leaders have also been demanding that a new bridge with a new design be built instead of reconstructing the bridge. However, when the government has not addressed this in a concrete manner, the locals have been staging a phased protest.
