Bridges stranded for 6 years, students and commuters in trouble

The temporary causeway constructed by the road project to ease the movement has been swept away by the flood on August 12 as the construction work has not progressed even after a long time since the contract was signed for the construction of the bridge.

Due to the lack of concrete bridges, they have to rely on temporary structures every year during the rainy season. However, due to the floods, the same temporary structure has also been washed away, affecting the daily life of the locals along with transportation in Taksugad.

The biggest impact of the delay in the construction of the bridge has been on the education of the students. Students going to study at Ganesh Basic School in Nalgad-11 from Roli and other settlements of Nalgad Municipality-10 have been deprived of going to school due to lack of safe transportation in Taksugad.

According to the locals, 101 students from across the river go to study in the school. There are 61 students studying in the Chokha area where the school is located. After the flood washed away the causeway, the regular classes of the students across the river have been stopped. According to local Deepak Nepali, the education of the students has been affected as they have not been able to go to school for a long time. He said that there is a concern that some students may have to drop out of school.

Preparations are being made to run the school in two places so that the students are not completely deprived of education. However, the locals say that the situation will also affect the teaching as the same teacher has to be divided into two places.

Caravan Hirachan JV had signed an agreement with the Bheri Corridor Project on January 15, 2020 for the construction of 150 meters bridge over Nalgad and Jhimi Khola at a cost of Rs 184

.3 million.

Similarly, Rayamajhi Caravan JV had awarded another contract for the construction of bridges at Maidekhola of Nalgad-8, Tratgad Khola on the border of Ward No. 8 and 9, and Taxugad between Ward No. 10 and 11 for the construction of a bridge at a cost of Rs. 13,54,38,900. These two bridges are of 100 meters. According to the agreement, the construction of the bridge should be completed within 36 months, but even after 6 years, the work of the Taksugad bridge has not progressed. Due to the lack of bridge, the traffic operation in the Bheri corridor has become risky during the rainy season.

The recent floods in the Taksugad river have damaged roads, suspension bridges and houses, putting the locals at greater risk. Due to the lack of permanent bridges, there is still a compulsion to cross the river through temporary structures.

Five houses and suspension bridges were also swept away

The flood in Taksugad on August 12 swept away five houses and a suspension bridge. The flood also damaged the temporary causeway used for road traffic, affecting the movement of Bheri corridor. Ward member Bishal BK said that if the permanent bridge was constructed, there would not be a need to depend on temporary causeways and suspension bridges during floods.

‘Situation of stopping travel due to cloudy sky in the sky’

According to Tej BK working at the secretariat of Nalgad Municipality, if the construction of the permanent bridge does not move ahead and strong temporary structures are not constructed immediately, the journey to Bheri corridor will be even more risky during the rainy season.

“The contractor has not started the work even after taking the contract for a long time. Now the temporary structure has also been washed away by the flood. If the new temporary structure is not built, the journey to the Bheri corridor will have to be postponed as soon as the clouds appear in the sky,” BK said.

According to him, the problem is not just related to passengers.

Students have not been able to go to school. There is also a problem in taking patients for treatment, transporting daily essentials and regular movement of locals.

The Bheri Corridor Road Project has urged the contractors to construct temporary structures in Taksugadh.

Contractors have been requested to do so as temporary structures are necessary to ease traffic on the road. However, the locals have said that there is no alternative to the construction of a permanent bridge even though temporary structures are urgently needed.

According to them, the construction of a concrete bridge that has been in limbo for a long time should be expedited rather than resolving the problem by constructing temporary structures after floods every year.

‘Contractors don’t even pick up the phone’

Mayor of Nalgad Municipality Dambar Rawat has complained that the contractors do not even pick up the phone. Rawat said that although the municipality has not been able to carry out the construction work directly as the bridge construction is under the plan of the federal government, it has been pressuring them to proceed with the work by providing necessary facilitation and coordination.

According to him, pressure has been exerted to resolve the problems of the locals and to make arrangements for temporary mobility immediately by coordinating with the concerned bodies and to expedite the construction of permanent bridges.

Impact from road to school due to lack of bridge

The impact of the lack of bridge in Taksugad is not limited to the problem of one road now. Commuters and vehicles traveling in the Bheri corridor are at risk. The daily movement of the local settlements has been affected. The floods have washed away houses and suspension bridges. More seriously, the education of children has been affected.

According to the locals, the delay in the construction of the bridge has affected the basic rights of the citizens as 101 students who go to study at Ganesh Primary School from across the river could not reach the school.

Although there is a preparation to divide the school operation into two places, due to the shortage of teachers, the same teacher has to teach in two places. This has not only made it challenging to take the students to the school but also to provide quality education to them.

The delay in the construction of the Taksugad bridge has also raised questions on the contract management and government monitoring.

The delay in the construction works even after a long time of signing the agreement with the contractors, the situation of relying on temporary structures and the lack of immediate permanent solution even after the floods swept away the temporary structures have raised questions on the accountability of the bodies concerned.

Ganshe Singh, a local, said that if the contractor did not work as per the agreement, then what action was taken as per the provisions mentioned in the agreement. Singh also demanded that the issue of the extension of the deadline should be made public as to what is the basis for it and why the work did not proceed within the extended period.

No longer a causeway, we need a bridge

Locals of Taksugad need a temporary structure for immediate safe movement. But their long-term demand is clear — a permanent bridge, not a temporary causeway. The Bheri corridor is an important road as it is not only a remote area of Karnali but also a trilateral road. The construction of a bridge on such a road has been in limbo for years, which has had a direct impact on the daily lives of the citizens.

The problem of Taksugad has only come to the surface again after the flood of August 29 washed away the causeway. The problem did not start at that time, but the foundation was laid from the day the construction of the bridge was awarded but the work did not proceed.

The floods have swept away temporary structures, students have not been able to go to school, locals are compelled to cross the river taking risk and the journey to the Bheri corridor has become uncertain with the rain clouds, said Vice-Chairman of Nalgad Town Committee of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), Prachanda Oli.