KATHMANDU, August 7: Locals said that Kathmandu’s Kapan has been facing the problem of inundation due to the delay in the construction of a box culvert. They said that since the contractor could not complete the construction of the culvert on time and it is not clear how much time it will take more, there is no immediate solution to the inundation problem of Kapan. By mid-July this year, culverts 1400 meters in length should have been constructed, but only 160 meters have been constructed.
Navraj Bhattarai, ward chairman of Budhanilkantha Municipality-10 in Kapan area, says that if the contractor does not move ahead with the work, there is still no idea when the flooding problem will be solved. "A contract was signed last year to build 1400 meters of box culverts by this June," he says. “As the contractor does not proceed with the work, it is not yet clear when the problem will be resolved”.
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Engineer Rajeev Shrestha of the Valley Development Authority, who assisted in the construction of the culvert, says that the work has been delayed owing to the lack of coordination between the agencies concerned. "Weaknesses were seen in all the stakeholders rather than any one party," he said, "That's why the work did not go as fast as expected." He believes that if the local unit, the general public, authorities and contractors work together, the problem will be resolved soon.
He said that since the work cannot be done during the rainy season, the contractor will work as soon as the rain stops. "We have extended the time to complete the work within six months after the rain stops,'' says Shrestha, he added “If the construction is delayed, we will take action as per the rules." Rajeev Yadav, project manager of Infrastructure Pvt Ltd said that the work will be completed in one year. "Now we will complete the work within a year," he said. In the past, they completed the construction of 600 meters of box culvert in the Bhangal area in four months.
