There are large machinery tools on the riverbank, machines are digging and workers are weaving rods. The Narayani is muddy, the water level has started to rise, but there is no progress in physical construction.
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.
With the onset of monsoon, the Narayani River has started rising. Along with this, the question has also arisen as to how the construction of the signature bridge over the Narayani River, which will connect Narayangadh in Chitwan and Gaindakot in Nawalpur, will proceed. Officials involved in the construction of the bridge say that there has been no visible physical progress in the construction of the bridge so far.
There are large machine tools on the riverbank. Machines are seen digging and workers are weaving rods. The Narayani has become murky. The water level has started rising. But the construction work of the structure has not yet begun.
The then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had laid the foundation stone of the bridge two years ago in Baisakh 2081 along with ministers. Even then, the work related to the design of the bridge was pending. The design approval of the bridge was received on 18 Kartik. After that, workers and machine tools were deployed in the field for the construction of the bridge.
‘Tests related to the load-bearing capacity of the bridge pillars have been conducted in the meantime. The testing work to be done in the field has been completed. Now the construction work will move forward, said Santosh Bhandari, site engineer of the Bharatpur Division Road Office, which is overseeing the construction of this bridge. There will be main towers on both sides of the bridge. There will be towers 100 meters apart from the ‘abutment’ (the place where the bridge starts and ends).
Currently, the construction work of the concrete structure that will become the ‘abutment’ is underway. The construction side has stated that the foundation work of the ‘abutment’ on the Narayangadh side and the main tower 100 meters away from it is underway. The distance between the two towers will be 220 meters. The total length of the bridge will be 420 meters. This bridge is being built to be able to operate water transport.
The construction side also plans to start the work of the ‘abutment’ on the Gaindakot side in the same fiscal year. An agreement was signed with the construction company Tundi Construction on 9 Jestha 2080 to complete the work in four years. The agreement, including the design of the bridge, was signed with Tundi. The agreement was to prepare and approve the design within a year and complete the construction in the remaining three years.
But the design of the bridge was approved only on 18 Kartik. As per the agreement, this work was to be completed in Baisakh-Jeshta 2081. The design of the bridge has been delayed by one and a half years. ‘Although there is no visible physical progress at present, various works are being carried out. The budget progress has been seven to eight percent,’ said Manzil Mishra, project manager of Tundi.
The total cost of the bridge is one billion 68 million rupees. Mishra said that about 150 workers are currently working on weaving rods for the pillars. Mishra said that four excavators, two each in Narayangadh and Gaindakot, a 60-ton crane, and three other large machines have been deployed to work in the field. He said that although the situation has not been favorable recently, they have not stopped work. ‘From rods to fuel, they have become expensive. The price of everything has gone up. Goods are not available on time. Also, the pre-monsoon has started early, so it is not easy to work. But we are continuing the work,' Mishra said. The bridge at Karnali Chisapani on the East-West Highway has only one tower and cable. This is the first bridge to be built in Nepal with two towers and cables.
'Although they have also started calling it a signature bridge. But this is an iconic bridge,' said Project Manager Engineer Mishra. The foundation stone of the current bridge built on the Narayani River in Narayangadh was laid in 2038 BS. The bridge, which took about four years to build, is getting old and narrow.
A new bridge is being built on the old bridge. The East-West Highway has become wider than before. Since the old bridge is not wide enough for the road, it is difficult for vehicles to cross. There is pressure to quickly build a new bridge as an alternative to the old bridge. But three years have passed since the agreement to complete the work within four years, the foundation work of the bridge has not been completed.
