Bridge construction over Bheri River at Ranighat remains stalled

BY LALIT BASEL,Surkhet, Apr. 13: The bridge over the Bheri River at Ranighat, located on the Bhurigaun–Telpani road that connects Surkhet of Karnali Province and Bardiya of Lumbini Province, remains incomplete even after 12 years. The bridge construction has been left in limbo due to some technical flaws in the design and an unresolved legal dispute filed by the contractor in court.

The construction contract for the bridge was signed on July 13, 2012, at Rs. 142.99 million with Pappu Mall JV, with a target completion period of 43 months, or by January 2016. The contractor began work and even initiated the placement of two pillars in the Bheri River. However, due to a flaw in the design of the middle pillar, which turned out slightly bent, construction was halted. The technical error led the construction company to file a lawsuit, which remains unresolved.

According to the Road Division Office in Surkhet, the construction work could not move forward because the case is still pending in court. Engineer Barkha Bahadur Shahi of the office stated that the contractor had already received an advance payment of Rs. 43.82 million. After the work was abandoned, the office terminated the contract on July 4, 2022, and confiscated the bank guarantee amounting to Rs. 8.97 million.

Engineer Shahi further said that due to the pending legal case, a new tender process cannot be initiated. Once the case is resolved, the bridge project will be re-tendered. In addition, a request has been submitted to the Ministry of Finance to ensure budget allocation for completing the bridge construction.

With the bridge construction stalled for 12 years, locals are forced to use tubes (inflated rubber boats) to cross the river. A suspension bridge that once served the area was washed away during the floods of 2014, making it harder for people to cross the river. Local resident Mankumari Sarki said that now they have to walk almost 30 minutes just to find a way to cross the river. “The old bridge is gone and the new one hasn’t been built. We’re forced to walk long distances just to get across. It has become very hard to live like this,” she said.

Another local, Lilaram Bile, said that if the bridge connecting Birendranagar Municipality–2 and Barahatal Rural Municipality–1 and 2 had been completed, reaching Bhurigaun in Bardiya would have been much shorter. “We’ve submitted many requests and delegations to have the bridge completed, but no one has listened,” he said. The bridge would reduce the distance to Bhurigaun by 54 kilometres.

Despite repeated promises made during every election to complete the Bhurigaun–Telpani road and build the Rani Ghat bridge, locals claim that no real effort has been made so far.

Meanwhile, the Karnali Provincial Government has stated that it has prioritised the road connecting the two provinces. Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel said that the government is giving priority to the road from Telpani in Surkhet to Bhurigaun in Bardiya and is putting pressure to expedite the bridge construction.