POKHARA, Oct 21: The Development Committee under Gandaki provincial assembly has directed the authorities concerned to ensure that the under-construction bridge connecting Pokhara Municipality ward no 14 and 15 is completed on time.
The foundation stone for the bridge over the Bijayapur River was laid in April, but the construction work has stopped after three months in June. After inspecting the project site on Sunday, the chairman of the committee, Deepak Koirala, directed the contractor to resume the work at the earliest and complete it on time.
The provincial government had awarded the bridge contract to GMR/Smart Civil Construction Pvt Ltd. The contractor has agreed to complete the work for Rs 12.8 million.
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“The contractor of the bridge was moving at a good pace in the initial state. But, of late, there has been no progress, and the contractor is not even responding to our phone calls,” Koirala said.
Likewise, Nabin Chandra Adhikari, an engineer who was on the site to inspect the project, said the bridge was supposed to be completed within a year, but only 25 percent work has been completed so far. “As there is no progress since June, the rebar used for the construction is already rusting away,” Adhikari said.
According to Nabin Baral, ward chairman of Pokhara Metropolitan City-26, the residents have expressed serious concerns over the delay. “The contractor is out of contact,” Adhikari said, adding that the metropolitan city office is equally concerned over whether the project sees completion on time.
Meanwhile, the contractor company has informed that the project will be completed on the promised deadline despite the stoppage in work.
“We will hand over the bridge by April 21, 2019. We are currently working on other 4-5 projects, so the work was halted briefly due to manpower shortage,” Dipen Giri, proprietor of the company said. Giri also said that his company's financial problems also caused the delay.
The bridge will be 25.65 meters long and 8.4 meters wide. Also, the bridge will have 1.2 meters wide sidewalks on both sides.
