Morang bus park project in limbo

By Our Correspondent,Urlabari, Feb. 18: After the works to build a bus park in Morang district stalled for years, the people who had donated the land for the project have themselves started reclaiming their land. 

Construction of the bus park had begun in Urlabari-6, Morang, eight years ago. But because of the negligence on the part of the governments of all three levels, the construction works made no progress. 

The project, which had begun when Urlabari was a Village Development Committee, still remains incomplete although the first five-year term of the elected representatives of Urlabari Municipality already expired and the new representatives assumed their office in May last year.     

In 2014, the locals provided one bigha and 13 katthas of land for the bus park and works to build it had begun. Kishor Shrestha, a local, said that land donor Balkrishna Karki had increased the area of his land by demolishing the walls surrounding the bus park. However, no attention has been paid despite the area turning into a haven for drug abusers, creating a problem for the people there. 

But Karki denied encroaching the land, saying that he toppled the bus park’s wall as it blocked the route to his land.  In the fiscal year 2014/15, Rs. 4 million was earmarked for the construction. The budget was used to manage the land and fill up soil, said co-ordinator of Land Search Committee, Ambika Bohora. No budget was allocated for two fiscal years thereafter. 

However, in fiscal years 2017/18, the federal government allocated Rs. 26.5 million from the Department of Urban Development and Building Division, Ministry of Urban Development. The money was spent to construct the compound walls in the east and north of the bus park, pave 400 meters of road connecting the bus park with the East West Highway and build toilets.  In 2019-20 only Rs. 5 million was received from which the waiting area was built on the busk park premise which is now completely destroyed.

Although the ward, municipality and province level representatives tried their best to seek budget for the construction of the multiyear project, they have been unable to manage the required budget. 

Chintamani Paudel, Chairman of Ward No. 6, said that the authorities responsible for providing budget said they had no money for the project.   

Chief Administrative Officer of Urlabari Municipality Agni Prasad Adhikari said as the bus park project was big, the local government had not allocated budget but had been in consultation with City Development Fund.

No further work was carried out after suggestions that the work should be resumed only after preparing a new DPR was made. The work had earlier started without a plan and was stopped halfway. The model of the building will be finalised after the completion of its DPR. Construction of bus park runway, support wall, drainage and paving of road from bus park to highway are in the works. With the meagre budget from government and local governments and the unaccountable local representatives, locals have been expressing their ire at the municipality. The locals, who had expected the flood in the Mawa River would be controlled once the project is completed, now worry about the risk from the river.