Voters want elected leaders to execute projects

By Dhyan Kulung

Sankhuwasabha, Nov. 13: Candidates for the upcoming elections for the House of Representatives (HoR) and provincial assembly are reaching the doorsteps of the people asking for votes while making various promises to them.

The competing candidates have been saying that if they were elected, they would ensure sufficient budget for the development projects in the district. However, people are looking for a candidate who can help in the implementation of the budget rather than including the budget in the budget speech. 

Jeeba Nath Khanal of Khandbari Municipality-8 said that since the budget received from the higher authorities could not be spent on various projects, there was no development, so there is a need for leadership who can implement the development projects and programmes.

According to Khanal, Sankhuwasabha is lagging in development as the budget received for important projects of the district could not be implemented. He said that the challenge has not been resolved for many years because the budget for more than a dozen big projects in the district could not be implemented. 

The voters said that development has not been successfully implemented here and there is a trend of awarding the contract of the projects and not taking care of it afterwards. 

"Bringing a budget for projects in Sankhuwasabha is not a big deal, we need a leader who can make contractors work," said Khanal.

Mingma Sherpa of Makalu Rural Municipality-1 also said that there is a need for a leader who can employ the construction entrepreneurs. Sherpa said that despite the allocation of tens of millions of funds, there is no achievement due to no or poor implementation. "Let's look at the road to Kimathangka. It was rumored that the budget has been received, but has it been worked on?" Sherpa asked. He said that the people should vote for the one who will implement the budget rather than the one who will bring the budget to the projects in the district.

About a dozen big projects are stalled in Sankhuwasabha. Some projects are being worked on at a slow pace by deferring the deadlines, while some of them have been abandoned by the contractors. 

The track opening of the North-South Koshi Highway, which is considered having international importance, has not been completed. The work of blacktopping from Khandbari to Num on the same road section has been stopped as the contractor fled the site after beginning the work. 

After failing to construct a motorable bridge across the Arun River from Sankhuwasabha's Lamsiwaghat in Tumlingtar to Bhojpur, the contractor has left the work. Likewise, a motorable bridge between Heluwabenshi and Bumling (Bhojpur) on the Arun River has not been started even till the expiry of the deadline. At the Manmohan Himalayan Highway, the contractor has abandoned the road upgradation work at the Bumling to Budhabare section mid-way. 

People in the district want a leader who can make the contractors work and complete the projects on time. Krishna Bhagat Pradhan, President of Sankhuwasabha Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that if people failed to elect a suitable candidate this time, the problems of the district would remain the same.