20 August, Surkhet. Even after years of contracts for the construction of roads and bridges in Jajarkot, projects worth crores of rupees are stalled. Even though the same construction company has taken various important project contracts, it has been found that some of them have made little progress and some of them have not started the construction work at all. Local citizens and travelers are suffering directly from this.
Out of the four projects contracted through Infrastructure Development Office, Jajarkot, Amar Sisne JV has taken the contract for three projects. While the progress of one of them is 75 percent, the other is 3 percent and the other is zero. The contract for the Salma river bridge was taken by Megha Sisne JV.
The Salma river bridge has been incomplete for four years
The Salma Khola (Khara) bridge connecting Chedagad Municipality-1 and 4 under the Chedachande-Jumla road section has been incomplete for more than four years. The construction of the bridge, which was contracted with Megha Sisne JV, Nepalgunj-2 Banke on 29 October 2078, should have been completed by 28 January 2080. The physical progress of the project, which was contracted for Rs 4 crore 88 lakh 15 thousand 18, is only about 30 percent. According to the office, the builders have taken payment of 1 crore 41 lakh 42 thousand 368 rupees so far.
According to the office, the work was stopped after the construction of two pillars. If the bridge is not built, during the rainy season, locals and travelers are forced to travel through the river at their own risk.
Head of the office Bhupendra Jaisi said that the office has initiated action against the builders after the work did not proceed. According to him, the office sent a letter to Prime Commercial Bank, Kamalpokhri, Kathmandu on 27th July 2083 and informed them to blacklist the builders and proceed with the performance guarantee process.
Earlier, the builder had filed a writ petition in the Patan High Court. The said writ was dismissed on 8th July 2083 and the letter office of the court received it on 21st July. After the cancellation of the writ, the office said that the process of confiscating the performance bond of around 65 lakh 22 thousand rupees in the bank has been started. Dipendra Shahi is on behalf of the builders.
Only three kilometers on a 30 kilometer road
The condition of the important road connecting Jumla through Chheda-Thalah-Sanakhola-Chande in West Jajarkot is also poor. An agreement was signed with Amar Sisne JV on 29th July 2078 for the construction of about 30 km road from Sanakhola towards Jumla. The contract expired on October 28, 2080.
Only three kilometers of roads have been constructed so far in the project which has been contracted for 15 crore 52 lakh 51 thousand 450 rupees. According to the office, the physical progress is about 3 percent. The builders have taken payment of 41 lakh 41 thousand 780 rupees so far.
If the road is completed, it will become an important route connecting West Jajarkot with Jumla, but due to the delay in construction, local traffic is deprived.
75 percent work on the 9 crore road
The progress of Sakla-Khari-Bayale-Limsa road under Nalgad-Kalimati-Khalchaur-Netilekh road section is relatively good. The cost of the project, which was signed with Amar Sisne JV on August 9, 2078, is Rs 9 crore, 12 lakh 67 thousand 450 rupees. The last date of the agreement was 30th Chait 2082 and it has been extended once.
According to the office, 6 crore 53 lakh 47 thousand 590 rupees have been paid in the project so far and the physical progress has reached 75 percent. The rest of the work has not yet been completed.
The work on the 3 crore bridge did not start
The progress of the motorable bridge connecting Barekot Rural Municipality-8 Saghutra and Nalgad Municipality-5 Sirka is zero. The construction of the bridge, which was contracted with Amar Sisne JV, Nepalganj on 29th Baisakh 2078, was to be completed by 28th Oct 2080. According to the office, no amount has been paid for the project, which was contracted for Rs.
As the work has not started even after the expiry of the deadline, the locals are in confusion as to when the construction of the bridge will be completed.
Construction businessmen say 'work was given in a difficult place'
Shahi, who is running Lalmaya on behalf of the builders, said that even though the writ was dismissed by the Patan High Court, they will go to the higher court. She said that now they are working in very corridor and they have to work in geographically very difficult area. He claims that the infrastructure development office should also take responsibility for the project given in a difficult place. She said that geographical difficulties and contract management aspects are also responsible for the project delay.
On the other hand, the office said that the legal process has been initiated against the builders who did not work according to the contract.
"The trend of only accepting non-working contracts should be stopped"
Dipendra Sharma of Nalgad-7 said that the projects whose construction has not started even after the expiry of the deadline should be taken forward immediately. According to him, the trend of only accepting non-working contracts has created problems for the citizens.
Local Dhaniram Thakuri also said that when the project was stalled for years, the services provided by the citizens were affected along with the investment of the state. The details of the four projects show that the progress of road and bridge construction is uneven despite the state's investment of crores. Salma river bridge is 30 percent, Sanakhola-Jumla road is 3 percent, Sakla-Limsa road is 75 percent and Saghutra-Sirke bridge is 0 percent.
The locals are demanding that the expired projects should be carried forward immediately, timely action should be taken against the builders who do not work according to the contract and real problems including geographical difficulties should be identified and solutions should be sought. If the contract is stalled for years, not only citizens will not be able to get the facilities of roads and bridges, but also the state's investment will be at risk.
