Longest suspension bridge near complete

By Vijay Kumar Sah,Dhalkebar, Jan. 6: Construction on Nepal's longest suspension bridge is nearly complete. The bridge, being built over the Kamala River and connecting Dhanusha's Kathal with Siraha's Malahaniya, is set to be 1,501 metres long and four feet wide. 

The bridge is being built for Rs. 280 million provided by the federal government. Thani Construction Service of Kathmandu is the contractor constructing the bridge and has promised to complete it by January end.

Binod Kumar Mandal, an engineer representing the contractor, said that even though the contract allows them to work till July 15, 2024, they are working to finish work six months before that. Thani Construction began work on September 17, 2022. 

"We have finished everything on the Dhanusha side and are about to finish constructing stairs on the Siraha side," Mandal said. "We will open the bridge to the public in a few days."

One local Mukesh Sharma assumed that the bridge would be used by nearly 5,000 people daily. Currently, the people of Siraha and Janakpur need to use the East-West Highway or Indian routes to travel between each other's districts.

The suspension bridge is also expected to act as an alternative to the motorable bridge that was built over the Kamala River under the Postal Highway project. The bridge was expected to prove a boon to the residents of Dhanusha and Siraha but it collapsed even before it could be inaugurated.

Another local Binde Mukhiya hoped that the bridge would allow farmers to find markets for their produce and boost tourism.