Road section in Tanahun collapses after six months of its construction

By Amar Raj Naharki,Tanahun, Nov. 20: A road section in Babuwa of Aanbukhaireni Rural Municipality-2 constructed by the Prithvi Highway Mugling-Pokhara Road Expansion Project has collapsed in just six months  after it was tarred.

Aash Bahadur Gurung, Ward Chairman of Ward 2, informed that the road collapsed completely over a distance of 20 metres causing cracks in several areas on Friday. He said, "The newly constructed road has collapsed, indicating negligence. We have demanded that construction be done according to the required specifications."

Prakash Chandra Bhandari, the project chief of the Eastern Section, said that the collapse occurred due to water leakage and that the construction company had already been instructed to drain the water and rebuild the road. Bhandari assured that the damaged road would be reconstructed and that the locals need not worry as further instructions for rebuilding had already been given. 

The contract for the Eastern Section was signed on January 30, 2021 and work began on April 15, 2021. This section covers 41.45 km and three major and four smaller bridges are going to be constructed under this project. The contract for this section was awarded to China Communication Construction Company.

Meanwhile, the contract for the road section from Jamune to Pokhara under Western Section was signed on May 16, 2021, and work began on August 28, 2021. The contract was awarded to the Chinese company Yanhui Kaiyuan Highway and Bridge Construction. With increasing traffic, the road, originally surveyed in 1969 was being upgraded to a four-lane road with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The contract for the Eastern Section was awarded at Rs. 6.21 billion and the Western Section was awarded at Rs. 7.46 billion. As per the expansion plan, the road width will be 25 metres on both sides in rural areas and 41 metres in urban areas with dense settlements. The road will be 41 metres wide in Dumre and Damauli markets in Tanahun district. The road width will be 46 metres from Dulegaunda to Kairenitar Bazaar, Kotrebazar area and from Gagangaida to Pokhara in Kaski district.