झोलुङ्गे पुल
DARCHULA, October 1
A newly constructed suspended bridge over the Ojigad River in Hunainath, Ward No. 4 of Malikarjun Rural Municipality, has been rendering unusable due to the absence of an access road.
On April 15, 2018 (Baisakh 2, 2075 BS), an agreement was signed between Malikarjun Rural Municipality and a local user committee to construct the bridge. The 77.40-meter-long and 106-centimeter-wide structure was completed at a total cost of NPR 3,865,208. According to Harish Thagunna, an overseer at Samaj Kalyan Samaj—the organization that provided technical support—seven years have passed since construction began, with final completion recorded in the fiscal year 2019/20 (2076/77 BS). Furthermore, the bridge was officially approved without completing its load/transit capacity testing.
Locals stated that while compensation was paid to the landowner whose agricultural field was directly used for the bridge’s foundation, a neighboring plot below it belongs to another individual. Because that landowner has refused to grant permission for an access path through their property, there is no physical connection between the bridge and the main road.
“In the previous fiscal year, the ward office allocated a budget of NPR 50,000 to construct a foot-trail leading up to the bridge, but the landowner refused to allow the path through their land,” said Indra Singh Dhami, Acting Ward Chairman of Malikarjun Rural Municipality–4.
Despite repeated verbal and written appeals sent by residents to both the ward office and the local government requesting operationalization of the bridge, the issue remains unresolved. Consequently, service seekers and locals traveling to Hunainath Secondary School Chandanpur, the Ward No. 4 Office, and the local health post continue to face severe commuting hardships, particularly during the monsoon season.
(RSS)
